Remorse
by Cupzy
Summary: A traveler ventures to Ponyville in search of some small change. But after staying in the area for a few days, something catches his eye. The only problem is he's a traveler, and she's not. Rated T just to be safe.
1. On A Whim

_Get in. Get out. And don't ask any questions while you're there._

A simple policy to follow, and a simple policy he stood by. Bits were rare and few, and food was the only thing they were made for. A young stallion climbed to the top of a small boulder cropping up out of the ground, trying to see through the dense overgrowth.

"Where in Tartarus have I ended up?" He asked himself. He stepped back down from the boulder, letting out a frustrated sigh as he did so.

"Go west, he said. You'll find another town, he said. I'm beginning to think that old stallion tricked me out of my bits..." He mumbled. He reached for the saddlebag on his side, pulling out a compass and looking westward. He let out another sigh as he put the compass back into his saddlebag. It didn't have much in it, a small bit purse that carried about ten bits, a pair of binoculars and a compass.

"Well, it's the only thing I got going for me... Might as well continue." He said to himself. Celestia's sun was setting over the horizon, and he certainly didn't want to become Manticore food during the night. But, we're getting a bit ahead of things, aren't we? The stallion didn't have a name, and he honestly preferred it that way. But the few ponies who had actually known him called him by the name of "Mute" He thought it was fitting, considering he didn't talk openly with anypony other than himself, he had considered getting a psychiatrist when he had the necessary bits, so... Probably never. He had a pure white coat, which, unfortunately, seemed to make him stand out more than he'd hoped. He had a red mane and tail, with the vast majority of his left eye being covered by his mane. His cutie mark depicted a map; From his ability to navigate and travel easily. He didn't know his family when he was a foal, all he knew was that his mother and father didn't want him and turned him over to an orphanage when he was born. He didn't let it bother him. He didn't have a job, unfortunately, he didn't exactly do well at school, so he decided to become a traveler, jumping from town to town, attempting to make an honest bit every now and again. He couldn't remember the last time he slept on a bed, the leaves and overgrowth of nearby fauna usually serving as his pillow every night. He had recently accepted a tip from an old stallion telling him that a town rested towards the west, where pretty much anypony could make some bits. Mute forked over ten whole bits to get that information, and now he barely had enough to feed himself with. He kicked a stone in frustration, sending it flying into a nearby tree. He had come to the conclusion that the old stallion was probably drunk, he could probably get back to the town he was just in before nightfall if he galloped. But Mute had this... Thing. He couldn't describe it, but whenever something good was about to happen, he had this feeling inside of him that essentially forced him to never give up; Determination, if that's what you want to call it.

"I swear... This is going to be the death of me one day." Mute said to himself, he sometimes wished he was a Pegasus, so that he could get everywhere faster, maybe even being a Unicorn could help him... Somehow... It was probably much better than being a stupid Earth pony. The light of Celestia's sun was now fading rapidly, and Mute decided to pick up the pace, he continued walking for a few more minutes before he saw something in the distance. He galloped over to the highest point he could find and reached into his saddlebag to bring out his binoculars. He peered through them, letting his eyes adjust to the sudden magnification. He managed to form a smirk on his face when he saw what was in the distance; A town. It wasn't big, but by the moon, it was something.

"Heh. Maybe that stallion took his medicine after all..." Mute joked to himself. He put his binoculars away and started to gallop towards the town, Celestia's sun had now vanished over the horizon, and Mute could barely see what was in front of him. He stood still for a few moments until Luna's moon started to rise, the moonlight being just enough for Mute to see the town in the distance.

"If that old stallion was telling the truth about this town, then maybe he was telling the truth about how it was easy to make a quick bit here!" Mute said to himself. He stopped himself just before reaching the town, panting heavily.

"Get In. Get Out. And don't ask any questions while you're there..." Mute said to himself. He started trotting towards the town, knowing that any dangerous creature living in the forest wouldn't come this close to a town. Most of the houses had their lights out, probably asleep. Mute yawned slightly before contemplating on the time. He was tired, but he could probably stay up for a few more hours. Even more so, considering a bright pink pony had just pinned him to the ground... Wait... What?! Mute snapped out of his thought sequence when he registered a pink pony pinning him forcefully to the ground. Odd, she didn't look like the mugger type.

"Hi! My name's Pinkie Pie! Are you new to Ponyville? *Gasp* I need to throw a welcome party for you. Cause you see I throw a welcome party for everpony that comes to this town because I really like to party, do you like to party? I hope you do because I'm gonna throw you the bestest party eve-" Pinkie Pie was silenced by a hoof blocking her mouth. Mute was still trying to grasp why a pink pony would tackle him to the ground simply for the purpose of a party. At least, he THOUGHT he heard the word "party" among the other gibberish the pony was spouting. She was still trying to talk with Mute's hoof over her face. Eventually, Pinkie Pie managed to stop talking for a second, which gave Mute time to push the pink pony off of him and pick himself up.

"So what do you think? Are you ready to have the best party eve-" Pinkie Pie was once again silenced by Mute's hoof.

"No." Was all he responded with. Mute wasn't know for his ability to talk to ponies, he only talked when the situation could affect either his reputation or current status of being alive. He was about to turn away and continue to walk into the town when he saw an odd sight, the pink pony's mane was completely straight along with her tail. She was sitting on her flank with a small tear dropping from her eye, and a loud sniffle escaped her nose. Mute was too confused to question the logic of the pony's personality, but he was more focused on the fact that he had made her sad. He didn't want to wake ponies up in the middle of the night due to the fact that he made a mare cry.

"Ah... Jeez... Look, I'm sorry, alright?" Mute said to the pony. Almost on cue, the straight mane and tail quickly sprung back to life, returning to it's normal poofy nature, her tears had seemingly vanished, and her face now portrayed a look of pure joy.

"Great! I thought for a moment that you were gonna be a party pooper. Does this mean that I can throw you a party? If you didn't hear me the first time, my name's Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie Pie said, outstretching a hoof. Mute was slightly worried that Pinkie Pie had a very odd mental condition. He took her hoof with slight hesitation.

"Ponies who meet me tend to call me Mute." He responded.

"Mute huh? Weird name. But you are pretty quiet, so I suppose it's fitting. Fluttershy would like you, she's pretty quiet too!" Pinkie Pie said. Mute didn't take any time to process who this "Fluttershy" might be, but he decided to end the conversation quickly, suddenly paranoid that Pinkie Pie might pull out a knife at any moment.

"I'm going to go now." Mute said plainly.

"So can I throw you a party?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"In a few days, alright?" Mute replied, turning his head around to walk further into the town. He wasn't going to be here in a few days, anyway.

"Okay! I'll see you around!" Pinkie Pie shouted back at him. Mute cringed at the amount of energy the party pony produced. He continued walking through the town until he came to a rather peculiar sight; It appeared to be a tree that had been made into some sort of large house. Mute yawned once more. After his encounter with Pinkie Pie, he decided to get some rest. He walked over to the tree-house and walked behind it. He found a small part of the roots where he could fit his body into, he leaned back his head and recalled the day's events. He had left the previous town he was in, walked through a Forest for a few hours, found a new town at the crack of night, got tackled to the ground by some sort of mentally-ill pony, and found himself somewhere decent to sleep for the night. All in all, it was a regular day for Mute, albeit the "being tackled by Pinkie Pie" part. He let out a small chuckle to himself as he closed his eyes, finding the whole situation rather ridiculous, he hoped that the pony living in the tree-house didn't mind him sleeping on it.

"I'll stay here for a few days, rack up some bits, and then it's off to Canterlot." Mute said to himself as he dozed off to sleep.

**WOO! Start of a new storeh! I know this chapter was pretty short, but it was kind of an "introduction" kind of thing. I'm kind of experimenting around with Mute a little, hopefully I'll pull something out of my arse. -_- Peace.**

**-Cupzy**


	2. A Rude Awakening

**So, I got some shit to say that I decided on yesterday. First line of business, somebody called NewNawn threatened to eat me if I didn't do a sequel to Redemption, but that's besides the point, the point is that NewNawn gave me a brilliant idea: Instead of doing something along the lines of OCxInsertSomeponyHere, he thought it would be a good idea to do an OCxOC story, this would allow me to focus more on the characters considering that I could control their personalities. But, one problem still stands in the way, I'm crap at making an OC. So that's what I told him. He sent a message back saying that I could probably rely on somebody else making an OC for me. As you may have noticed, I usually have someone backing me up when I'm writing fanfics (Be it OC creating to general-idea-thinker-upper) These people usually keep me on track when I run out of things to write, or just to nag at me whenever I don't upload a chapter, Either way helps me a lot. So I decided to make up a short little program for this story (With the help of NewNawn) Basically, I'm essentially opening myself to every single OC idea that everyone has. If you have a good idea for an OC, simply private message me the details. Now obviously I still have the fanfic to support while this is going on, so I've decided to set a deadline so I don't fall behind on writing the story, I'm probably going to continue this little OC-fest I've got going on until chapter 3-4, that way I'll still be able to add in some story before the time comes.**

**"But Cupzy, what if nobody suggests an OC to you?" **

**Good thinking, brain. If nobody suggests an OC for me by the time I reach chapter... 4, then I'll simply go along with the original idea I had planned for the story. Good idea? Probably not! But it's worth a try. *Whew* well, this has been the longest introductions I've ever written on one of my chapters... So I suppose I'll simply let you read the story now. Thanks for listening! Enjoy.**

Mute let out a large yawn as he opened his eyes, quickly covering them from the blazing brightness of Celestia's sun. He let his eyes slowly adjust to the brightness before lowering his hoof, leaning it backwards into a long stretch. After letting out another yawn, he rose to his hooves, slowly remembering the events of the previous day. He started to walk back towards the entrance to the library, but was stopped when he saw what was ahead of him; It was a magenta Unicorn, with her hair composed of two different colors; Purple and pink-ish. She was shooting an angry glare at Mute, he looked confused, not sure what he could have possibly done that would anger a mare. He remained silent, waiting until the magenta Unicorn decided to speak up.

"What in Equestria were you doing?" The Unicorn asked.

"Huh?" Mute replied, not sure what the Unicorn was talking about. The Unicorn pointed to the space where Mute had spent the night.

"Over there. What were you doing? You looked unconscious." The Unicorn said.

"Sleeping." Mute managed out.

"Sleeping?! Why in Equestria would you want to sleep next to my library?" The Unicorn asked. Mute fell under the assumption that the tree house he was sleeping next to happened to be a library. And this Unicorn was probably in charge of it. Mute shrugged his shoulders and turned away to leave, before the Unicorn's horn glowed a bright magenta, a similar glow appeared over Mute's forelegs, forcing them to the ground whenever he tried to lift them. He turned his gaze back to the Unicorn, assuming she wasn't taking that as a viable answer.

"What?" He asked.

"You can't just waltz away when I asked you a question! Why would you want to sleep next to my library?" The Unicorn asked again.

"I'm new." Mute replied.

"Don't you have anywhere to stay?" The Unicorn asked. Mute shook his head, he attempted to lift his hoof up again, shooting a glance at the Unicorn that said "Please let me go now"

"Before I let you go, I expect an apology." The Unicorn said.

"Sorry." Mute replied, he felt the magic grip loosen around his forelegs.

"Thank you. I think we got off on the wrong hoof, my name is Twilight Sparkle." She said, outstretching her hoof. Mute shook her hoof quickly and started to walk away.

"Don't you have a name?..." Twilight Sparkle asked sarcastically. Mute continued walking forward.

"Mute" He replied. He was trying to keep his name to himself, but it looked like the Unicorn wouldn't leave him alone without knowing his name.

"Uh... Nice meeting you... I suppose..." She replied, walking towards the entrance to her library. Mute continued to walk into the town before he came across a small marketplace, with various vendors selling foodstuffs and vanity items. Mute heard his stomach growl loudly, he groaned as he pulled out the remaining bits he had. He walked around the marketplace, looking for somepony who wasn't charging a ridiculous price for food.

"Apples! Get'cher fresh apples here!" A distinctly southern voice said. Mute looked in the direction of the voice, he saw an orange Earth pony with a blonde mane and tail wearing a stetson on her head, a much larger, distinctly quieter stallion stood next to her, seemingly staring into nothing. Mute looked at the small amounts of bits he had before walking towards the mare.

"Hey, how much for one of those apples?" Mute asked quickly. The mare shot a quick glance at him before turning to him with a smile.

"Ah don't reckon ah've seen ya'll 'round these parts, well, let me the the first tah introduce ya'll into Ponyville! Mah name's Applejack, you?" Applejack said, spitting on her hoof and outstretching it to Mute, he hesitated for a few moments before shaking the mare's hoof slowly, wincing sightly at the wet sensation.

"Mute." He replied before letting go of Applejack's hoof, wiping his own onto his coat with an inaudible grunt of slight disgust. Applejack simply stared at Mute for a few seconds before letting out a small chuckle.

"Fitting name. Ya'll don't talk much, do yah? You and Big Mac would get along." Applejack said, pointing a hoof to the large red stallion behind her. Mute and Big Mac exchanged glances for a few seconds before nodding to each other, which Mute had already interpreted into a full sentence along the lines of "You're Big Mac?" Followed by what Mute interpreted as some form of "Eeyup" Applejack let out another chuckle at the exchange of the two Earth ponies.

"Well, If ya'll want an apple, It'll cost ya three bits." Applejack proposed, Mute let out a small groan of annoyance as he forked over the necessary bits, Applejack leaned into a small container and pulled out a shiny red apple, handing it to Mute with a smile.

"Ah hope ya'll have a good time in Ponyville, Mute." Applejack said. Mute uttered a short "thanks" under his breath and began to walk away, he had to admit that the apple was one of the best things that he had ever tasted, but he decided to save celebration for when he wasn't sleep-deprived. He continued walking through Ponyville until he saw a familiar sight in the distance, a pink pony was hopping around the town square happily, Mute instantly identified the mare as Pinkie Pie, and turned around immediately. Unfortunately, Mute seemed to turn around too fast, as he collided with another pony when he attempted to trot away, keeping his attention on Pinkie Pie. He was knocked to his flank, rubbing his head in pain. He pulled himself back to his hooves and looked over at the pony he had just crashed into, a bright yellow Pegasus mare seemed to have also been knocked to her flank, she had a worried expression on her face. Her mane and tail were a bright pink, the first thing that Mute noticed about the pony was that she was a Pegasus.

"Lucky..." Mute muttered under his breath.

"Oh, I'm s-sorry. I didn't look where I was going and..." The pink Pegasus started before trailing off into a small squeak.

"It was nothing." Mute replied, he realized his original intentions and looked back over to the town square, his eyes widened in fear when he saw Pinkie bouncing towards him.

"Omigosh, Fluttershy, are you okay?" Pinkie Pie asked, the yellow Pegasus that was referred to as Fluttershy rose to her hooves, brushing off her coat.

"Y-Yes, I'm perfectly fine, Pinkie." Fluttershy responded. Pinkie Pie smiled and turned her gaze to Mute.

"Oh! You're that pony that came into town last night!" Pinkie Pie shouted. Mute nodded slowly, still fearing for his safety at the mere mention of the crazy mare.

"That's Fluttershy, by the way, she's really quiet and cares for all the animals in Ponyville!" Pinkie Pie said, pointing a hoof at Fluttershy, causing her to back down a little. Mute gave Fluttershy a quick nod of recognition, which only seemed to make her back down even more.

"See? Try not to scare her or anything." Pinkie explained. Mute nodded at Pinkie's statement, the yellow mare seemed even less eager to speak than himself; A feat not easily accomplished.

"And Fluttershy, this is Mute, he's also really quiet!" Pinkie said, returning her gaze to Fluttershy.

"N-Nice to m-meet you..." Fluttershy squeaked out.

"Likewise, now would you please let me get going?" Mute asked, getting slightly aggravated at Pinkie holding him up.

"Sure! I'll see you when I plan your party, Mute!" Pinkie shouted as Mute trotted away. He let himself smirk for a few seconds, still knowing that he wasn't going to be here by the time she planned that party of hers. Mute continued walking through Ponyville, dotting around landmarks and buildings and trying to get a general layout of the town. Due to his immense capabilities in the field of navigation, he was able to accomplish this in a few hours. He noted down the more important buildings such as a store or a cafe just in case he ever needed supplies or if he ever got hungry. He must have woken up pretty late, considering Celestia's sun was already setting in the distance. Mute decided that it would probably be a good idea to plan somewhere to sleep for the duration of his stay in Ponyville. He continued to walk around town for another hour, trying to find a decent place where he could sleep and not distract any of the residents of Ponyville. He eventually gave up after an hour and decided to simply sleep outside of the town. He made his way to some small hills that cropped up near Ponyville and found somewhere that looked decently comfortable. He was about to sit down near a tree when he heard hoofsteps behind him, he stood perfectly still and listened to how close the pony was. The hoofsteps stopped abruptly. Mute took the initiative and turned around, what he saw confused him a little. Fluttershy was standing there with a concerned look on her face.

"What are you doing so far away from Ponyville? I-I mean... If you don't mind me asking..." Fluttershy asked.

"Finding somewhere to sleep." Mute replied flatly.

"O-Out here? Isn't it cold? And surely it can't be very comfortable." Fluttershy responded.

"Don't matter if it's comfortable or not. It's somewhere you sleep." Mute replied before sitting down with his back against the tree.

"S-So... Are you new to Ponyville?" Fluttershy asked.

"Just passing through. I'm a traveler." Mute replied. Fluttershy seemed to perk up at this, displaying a warm smile on her face.

"Really? You must have seen a lot of wildlife while you were traveling!" Fluttershy exclaimed, using the term "exclaimed" loosely.

"Yeah... I suppose." Mute replied. Fluttershy walked over to him and sat down next to him, showing a brief glint of excitement in her eyes.

"Could you... Tell me about them? I-I mean... If it's alright with you..." Fluttershy said, the small glint in her eyes replaced with sadness. Mute scratched his head for a moment, wondering why a shy Pegasus would be so interested in animals.

"Sure, I suppose." Mute eventually replied. Fluttershy let out a small "thank you" before asking him a few questions about the animals he had encountered. Mute had seen a lot of animals, sure. Most of them were after his head, though. The worst part about traveling through the forest is that a Manticore would try and jump you, or how you would always sit down DIRECTLY on top of a Poison Joke, Mute let out a small chuckle at the memory, it took weeks for him to find a healer for the swelling. Mute started to slowly explain the sights he had seen in his travels. He wasn't usually such a talkative pony, but he was talking to an equally shy Pegasus, so they could relate. After an hour of explanation, Mute had just finished his story about the Poison Joke, eliciting a few giggles from Fluttershy.

"...And that's why I refuse to sit down while traveling ever again." Mute finished. Luna had just finished raising the moon a few minutes ago, followed by Mute letting out a large yawn.

"Well, I don't want to take up any more of your time. So you'd best be off." Mute explained.

"A-Are you sure you want to stay out here tonight? I-I have a spare room in my cottage..." Fluttershy said.

"I'm perfectly fine, 's not like something's going to kill me during the night." Mute joked. Fluttershy raised herself up from the ground, giving her coat a quick shake.

"A-Alright... It was nice meeting you, Mute." Fluttershy squeaked.

"Yeah, you too." Mute replied, Fluttershy started to trot off, leaving Mute with his thoughts.

_"Alright, tomorrow, I'll pick up some work and earn some bits. As soon as I earn enough, it's off to Canterlot." _Mute planned out in his mind. He rested himself against the tree, trying to get into a more comfortable position. Once he was sufficiently pleased, he closed his eyes and let himself fall asleep under the stars.

**So this was kind of the first, REAL chapter of this new story of mine. Um... I kind of explained everything important in the intro so... Peace.**

**-Cupzy**


	3. The Farmhand

**Late chapter? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! So Redemption appears to have exploded within its final hours. I've had review after review asking me to write a sequel, usually accompanied by some sort of alarming death threat 0-0 But I digress, will there be a sequel? Probably. I'm not sure if I want to get to work on it after this story, hell, It might be years before I upload it. Maybe I'll bide my time, secretly working on the sequel while still maintaining my other stories, and then BOOM! I upload a five-hundred long chapter story of the sequel. But it appears that only time will tell... Enjoy.**

It was 1:00 am, a normal time for Mute to sleep in to. Several different types of bird perched themselves onto the small tree that Mute had nestled himself into and started to chirp happily at the sight of a new day. Wind traveled undisturbed throughout the blades of grass that he slept on. Several small critters could be seen scampering around the nearby Everfree Forest. A clear view of Ponyville could be seen, most ponies already up and continuing with their daily lives, while a few heavy sleepers had just exited their homes, taking in a deep inhale of air to wake them from their still-sleepy state. Mute, however, still wasn't awake, he had his back pressed up against the tree, with his coat lightly snagging against some crooks so that he wouldn't fall over while sleeping. He had his hooves resting on his stomach as the light sound of his quiet snores could be heard. The birds stopped chirping for a moment, looking in the direction of a small Pegasus approaching the tree with a basket in her mouth. The birds continued chirping when they recognized the Pegasus as Fluttershy, who had always been a good friend to every animal near Ponyville. Fluttershy continued walking slowly towards Mute, she pressed her hoof down onto the ground, causing a loose twig from the tree to make a loud *SNAP* in response to Fluttershy's hoofstep. She let out a quick yelp of surprise as she stared down at the broken twig. A short snort could be heard from the tree, Fluttershy looked back up to see Mute slowly opening his eyes, letting out a large yawn to reassure himself of his current level of consciousness. He reached out and stretched one of his hooves, using the other to rub his head in a drowsy manner. Once he had reacquainted himself with the majority of his limbs, he slowly lifted himself up, his back making a small *Crack* as it moved away from the tree trunk. He raised himself to his hooves, brushing his coat to get any loose pieces of dirt to fall off.

"Ugh... Note to self: Back seems to hurt after sleeping against tree..." He announced to himself sarcastically and sleepily. He gave a quiet chuckle at his own joke before turning his attention to the right, where he saw a familiar Pegasus standing before him with a basket in her mouth.

"Oh, hello Fluttershy." Mute said groggily, actually initiating a conversation for once.

"Oh. I-I'm sorry... I didn't mean to wake you..." Fluttershy said apologetically, her voice slightly muffled due to the basket in her mouth. Mute waved a dismissive hoof in Fluttershy's direction.

"Don't worry. 'S nothing. I needed to get up anyway." Mute replied. Fluttershy simply stood in the same spot, dragging her hoof across the ground.

"What's that you got there?" Mute asked, pointing a hoof at the basket Fluttershy carried. She walked towards Mute and placed the basket on the ground near him, flashing a quick smile.

"I... I t-thought you would get hungry when you woke up... S-So I made you some sandwiches..." Fluttershy said quietly. Mute stared at the yellow Pegasus before looking at the basket, it had a small red and white cloth covering whatever was inside. He pulled the cloth off to reveal two daisy sandwiches at the bottom of the basket. Mute's stomach growled in anticipation, the last thing he ate was an apple, and it wasn't very substantial. Should Fluttershy had not been there, he probably would have immediately started to eat the sandwiches, but something managed to hold him back.

"...You made these?" Mute asked. Fluttershy looked him in the eyes, slowly nodding. Mute stared at the basket in silent astonishment.

"I... Uh... Thanks... I suppose..." Mute said, rubbing the back of his neck with his hoof.

"S-Since you were so nice to me last night... Telling me about all of your travels... I thought it would be nice to... Return the favor..." Fluttershy said. She stared down onto the ground in embarrassment. She looked back up a few seconds later to see Mute standing over her, she let out a small yelp before realizing what Mute was doing, he had a sandwich balanced on the end of his hoof, holding it out to her.

"As much as I'd like to eat these, you deserve an equal share." Mute said.

"Oh no... I couldn't..." Fluttershy said, Mute only stretched his hoof further in Fluttershy's direction.

"Haven't shared anything with nopony in years, consider yourself lucky I'm doing this." Mute continued. It was true, after all. He had learned to never share with anypony, any bits or food that were for the taking he kept for himself, he had barely been able to keep himself alive the last time he shared something with somepony. Fluttershy looked reluctant for a few seconds before slowly outstretching her hoof, taking the sandwich from Mute's.

"T-Thank you..." Fluttershy squeaked.

"...No problem..." Mute replied. The two remained silent for a few moments, before Mute went to grab the other sandwich from the basket. He took a quick bite before realizing how hungry he really was, he felt like he had just ate a five-star dinner from the most prestigious dining establishment in the whole of Equestria. The sandwich would certainly keep him going for a while. He quickly finished the sandwich off before returning his gaze back to Fluttershy, who was about halfway through her own sandwich.

"Thanks for the food." Mute said.

"I-It was nothing..." Fluttershy replied. Mute let out another small yawn.

"Do you know anywhere in Ponyville where I could get some work?" Mute asked.

"W-Well, I'm sure Twilight or Applejack would be happy to have an extra hand around..." Fluttershy said quietly.

"Twilight? That's that mare that scolded me yesterday... And Applejack is that mare that sold me the apple..." Mute asked, mumbling to himself when he spoke the sentence about Twilight Sparkle. Fluttershy let out a quick gasp of realization.

"Oh! I haven't introduced you to any of my friends yet... Well, apart from Pinkie Pie..." Fluttershy said, Mute shuddered at the thought of the pink party pony.

"I would rather not meet them... I don't cope well with other ponies..." Mute explained.

"Oh... Well, I'm sure Applejack would need some help on her farm, did you see the large apple orchard on your way into Ponyville?" Fluttershy asked. Mute thought for a moment, he had seen lots of trees, sure. But there was no sign of an apple orchard.

"No... I can't say I did..." Mute replied.

"Well... Um... I could... Show you... I mean, if that's okay with you..." Fluttershy said.

"Sure. I haven't done work on a farm for years..." Mute said. Fluttershy signaled for Mute to follow her. She began to walk back into the town, a few ponies seemed to shoot odd glances at the duo, while mares whispered into each others ears when they passed. Once Fluttershy and Mute had reached the farm, Mute scratched his head, not understanding how in Equestria he didn't see the orchard and farm on the way in. The farm didn't exactly look top notch, with the barn and small house that occupied the area being significantly run-down. The farm was near silent, apart from the sound of metal plowing through dirt, Mute looked to his left to see a large red stallion that he identified as Big Macintosh dragging an extremely damaged plow through the fields. Fluttershy had gone ahead to the house and was currently knocking on the door. By the time Mute had reached Fluttershy, Applejack had already answered the door, and was striking up conversation with Fluttershy. Applejack turned her attention to Mute with a smile on her face.

"Hey! I remember ya'll from yesterday! Mute, was it?" Applejack asked. Mute simply nodded in response.

"Well, on behalf of the apple family, welcome to our farm!" Applejack said, outstretching her hoof, thankfully not spitting on it this time around. Mute took her hoof with slight hesitation.

"So, what can I do for ya'll?" Applejack asked.

"...I was wondering if you needed some help around the farm..." Mute replied.

"Well sure! An extra farmhand is always welcomed 'round these parts! How long you wanna work for?" Applejack asked.

"A few days..." Mute replied flatly.

"Well, if ah pay ya'll at the end of your time here, then I'd probably be able to get one-hundred bits together for ya." Applejack replied. Mute choked a little at the monetary pay. One-hundred bits, he had never owned so much money in his entire life. When Applejack outstretched her hoof for confirmation, Mute could have sworn that he broke the poor mare's hoof. Applejack retracted her hoof in pain, letting out a small chuckle.

"That's one iron grip ya got there. Ya might be some help around here after all." Applejack said, Mute wasn't sure to take that as a compliment or an insult, so he just dismissed the statement entirely.

"If ya'll head on over tah Big Mac, he'll show ya the ropes of farmin'." Applejack said. Mute nodded happily and galloped towards Big Macintosh, Applejack let out a small laugh at Mute's enthusiasm.

"He seems... Happy." Fluttershy said quietly.

"So why'd ya'll come here, Fluttershy?" Applejack asked.

"Oh, Mute wanted to know where the farm was, so I decided to show him." Fluttershy said.

"So... Is he yer coltfriend or somethin'?" Applejack asked, seemingly from nowhere. Fluttershy let out a yelp of surprise before consoling herself, bringing her pink mane forward to hide her blushing face.

"No... I-It's nothing like that..." Fluttershy said. Applejack patted her on the back a few times, letting out a laugh.

"Ah'm just messin' with ya, Fluttershy." Applejack said. Fluttershy let loose a sigh of relief. Moving her pink mane away from her face.

"Although ya do seem right for each other." Applejack said, instantly forcing Fluttershy into her previous position, eliciting another hearty laugh from Applejack.

Meanwhile, Mute had just caught up with Big Macintosh and explained the situation to him, the thought of a large sum of money still clouding his mind.

"Ya'll picked a good time to start. Harvestin' season's just begun." Big Mac explained.

"...I'm assuming that's a good thing...?" Mute asked.

"Good and bad. Yer gonna get paid a lot more but yer gonna be doin' a lot more work. How much bits did AJ offer yah?" Big Mac asked.

"One-hundred..." Mute said, trailing off into his own little fantasy world. Big Mac let out a long whistle of surprise.

"She obviously has high hopes for ya'll." Big Mac said. Mute still worried about the prospect of more work, he certainly wasn't built for farm work. Although he did have strong hooves and legs with all of the walking and running he's been doing his whole life.

"I'll do my best..." Mute said.

"Glad to hear that. We'll probably stick ya on apple buckin' duty." Big Mac explained.

_"Apple bucking... Doesn't sound that bad..." _Mute thought to himself. His thoughts were incorrect, once Big Mac had shown him the basics of apple bucking, Mute immediately found out that apple bucking is harder than it looks. His legs made an odd cracking noise whenever he made contact with the tree coupled with an excruciating pain, but he had his mind set on one thing: The one-hundred bits he was promised at the end of his time in Ponyville. He managed to press on for a large majority of the day, he lost count of how many trees he had harvested by the time the sun was starting to set, he seemed to be running off pure adrenaline, as the pain in his joints seems to numb after a while. As a matter of fact, almost his entire body was numb, he was also on his side gasping for breath, and his eyes felt the need to close. He started to rest for a while, regaining what small control he had over his dead limbs. After falling asleep for about an our, he limped back to the house that Applejack and her family stayed in, he knocked on the door. A small yellow filly with a red ribbon in her mane answered the door.

"Who're you?" The young filly said.

"...Please fetch me Applejack..." Mute said, his sentence littered with pain. The small filly cringed before going back inside of the house, calling for Applejack, who eventually made her way to the front door.

"Mute?! Where have ya been? We was worried sick about ya!" Applejack shouted.

"...I left all the apples I harvested just outside the orchard..." Was the only sentence that Mute spoke before trotting off in the opposite direction while Applejack was left scratching her head.

_"What possessed me to do that? I feel like I'm about to die..." _Mute thought. He managed to trudge along to the small tree that he nestled in last night. The basket that Fluttershy was still there, oddly enough. Mute seated himself with his back against the tree, moving into the most comfortable position possible. The birds and the small woodland creatures that Mute saw in the morning had gone to sleep, and the view of Ponyville was somewhat obstructed by the lack of light. Luna had just started to raise the moon.

_"It was all worth it, I suppose... One-hundred bits could take me places... Namely Canterlot..." _Mute thought to himself, with his previous experience in managing money, he could certainly last for a long time with that amount of money. He nestled himself further into the tree and closed his eyes, allowing himself to fall asleep.

**AH! LATE CHAPTER! OH NOES! But I had some stuff to do, namely Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (Right click, add to dictionary) And I managed to complete it in one night, which I take as a great achievement (The last hour being the final boss, I mean GOOD GOD was that hard.) But I managed to shit this chapter out in the small amount of writing time that I had. Peace.**

**-Cupzy**


	4. Reminding Ourselves Of The Good Times

The small sounds of Mute snoring were the only signs of life within a large radius, every single light from Ponyville had vanished, leaving Mute in complete darkness. He didn't mind, he was asleep, after all. Not just asleep, _dreaming_. He was dreaming about his childhood, and more importantly, how this all began...

Mute walked through the narrow halls of the orphanage, tomorrow would be the day that he had to leave. He had reached the age where he was expected to be able to take care of himself. He let out a large sigh as he slammed his hoof against the ground in frustration.

"Angry, friend?" A voice asked from nowhere, Mute turned around to see a stallion walking towards him, he looked about the same age as Mute, his mane and tail were bright red, while his coat was a dark brown. He, along with Mute, had not yet acquired a cutie mark. Mute remained silent as he stared at the stallion, wondering what motive he would possibly have for talking to him.

"Quiet, aren't you? I've seen you around the orphanage, you never talk to anypony, always keeping to yourself, sitting in a corner or other confined spaces... Tomorrow's the day you're supposed to be leaving, isn't it?" The stallion asked.

"What's your name?" Mute asked quietly.

"Never knew my real name. People around here seem to have settled on the name "Cruise" Probably because of how laid back I am." He replied, folding his hooves behind his neck.

"...What do you want?" Mute asked again. Cruise let out a small chuckle.

"Tell me. What do you plan on doing once you get out of here?" Cruise asked. Mute shrugged his shoulders in response.

"Neither do I. I'm supposed to be leaving tomorrow as well. Still don't know what I'm gonna be doing once I get out." Cruise continued.

"...Anything that can help me afford a house..." Mute answered.

"House? Heh, I never took you for the whole "staying in one place" stuff." Cruise said. Mute raised a confused eyebrow in response.

"If you must know, I intend to travel when I leave here." Cruise said.

"...Travelling... The idea never crossed my mind." Mute replied.

"Imagine it. You would never have to settle down anywhere, you would be able to see Equestria in all of it's glory. Exploring all of Equestria would take a large portion of your life up, and you would only need bits for food and nothing else. Sounds great, doesn't it?" Cruise asked. Mute pondered on the idea for a moment, travelling did seem like a fruitful endeavor, maybe Cruise was on to something. He had nearly enough bits to afford basic travelling supplies.

"Tell you what. If you think travelling is a good idea, then tomorrow, we can meet up at the store just outside of the orphanage. We can combine our bits and buy some basic travelling supplies, and then we could be off! We could explore the whole of Equestria together! It sounds like a good idea, doesn't it?" Cruise asked. Mute put a hoof to his chin and tried to find any sort of catch with Cruise's plan, only one flaw seemed to come to mind.

"...How do I know that you won't just steal all my bits from me the first chance you get?" Mute asked, speaking one of the longest sentences he had ever spoken in months. Cruise let out a hearty laugh at this.

"Believe me, if I wanted to do that, the bits would have already been taken." He responded. Mute grew a troubled look on his face as he checked his bit wallet was still there, he sighed when he felt the wallet.

"Believe me now?" Cruise asked.

"...Yes." Mute replied. Cruise trotted over to Mute and placed a hoof on his shoulder.

"So you want to carry out the plan?" He asked again.

"...I've got nothing to lose..." Mute replied quietly.

"Great! I'll see you at the store outside of the Orphanage tomorrow, alright?" Cruise shouted as he galloped off.

"Sure." Mute said quietly, pretty sure that Cruise hadn't actually heard him. He started to walk through the small hallways of the Orphanage, the place was dilapidated. It used to be nice when Mute first joined, but years of neglect had made the Orphanage look like an abandoned building. Most of the kind old mares that used to work in the Orphanage had all since left or passed away, and replaced with mares that hated the presence of colts, fillies, stallions and other mares. Mute continued walking down the corridor until he stopped at a door that had the number _14 _embedded into the wood hastily with a carving knife. He pushed open the door and sighed as he walked inside, this was the last time he was ever going to see his room, so he might as well get ready. He took out a saddlebag that was several sizes too big for him and began to pack the necessities for his trip. Luckily, he already owned a map which he kept pinned up on the wall of his room, he always had a fascination with maps. Just another reason for wanting to travel. He packed the small amount of food he had into the saddlebag and shifted it to the edge of his bed. He looked over at the cheap alarm clock that he received for his birthday, the time read 9:00 pm. Mute crawled into bed and dozed off for the rest of the night; His dreams filled with thoughts of what kind of adventures he might have while travelling.

A small bird chirped, which was just enough to make Mute open his eyes, small pieces of sleep cracking from them. He yawned quietly as he reared himself up in the bed, he looked at his alarm clock. 12:42?! He was going to be late at this point, he wasn't given a deadline but he didn't exactly want to keep Cruise waiting. He tumbled out of bed, his head making a collision with the small cabinet at the right hand side, his eyes went blurry for a second before rearranging themselves and being replaced by a stabbing pain in his head. He groaned in frustration as he picked himself up. He picked his saddlebag up from the floor, seeing that it knocked itself from the bed during the mass chaos. He opened his door and shot one glance back at his room before closing it quickly.

_"I just want to leave... Leave and never come back..." _Mute thought. He hated this place, everypony was always bullying him for his shyness, not to mention that the workers at the Orphanage did a terrible job at actually helping him with anything. He could swear that he saw one of them smile lightly when they saw him getting kicked to death by a group of stallions. He walked to the entrance of the Orphanage and opened the door, a bright flash of sunlight caused him to shield his eyes with his hoof, using the other to steady the saddlebag that constantly kept falling off. He started walking into the small village that the Orphanage resided in, he never really got a good look at the village, considering he was allowed to be out for fifteen minutes every week in the Orphanage. Running off pure memory, Mute made his way to the small corner shop near the edge of the village. The village itself was surrounded by a large forest, and there had been numerous reports of ponies getting murdered by Manticores or getting murdered by another pony. Mute looked around for Cruise but there seemed to be no sign of him. He suspected Cruise to be inside the corner shop instead, he walked into the small shop, still looking around for the stallion that he could presumably call a "friend" Unfortunately, there was still no sign of him.

"If yer gonna window shop, then do it outside." A strong Scoltish voice said from behind Mute, he turned around to see somepony standing at the counter, eyeing him with a dangerously intimidating gaze.

"...Sorry. I'm just looking for somepony called Cruise." Mute replied, instantly resuming his search.

"Cruise? Cruise... Cruise... Oh! There was a pony who went by that name that came by here earlier! Said to hand this note to somepony named "Mute" or somethin'?" The shopkeeper said.

"That'd be me." Mute replied quickly. The shopkeeper searched the counter for a while before pulling out a small piece of ripped paper and handing it to Mute.

_If you're reading this, then I can only assume that it's you, Mute. Listen, I know that I said we would travel Equestria together, but I got an idea this morning! Too bad you were still asleep otherwise I'd probably not be getting a head start. I couldn't really wait to get this travelling thing going, so I came up with a little... Challenge... To lighten things up a little. You can go to any town you want first, go to every single town in Equestria using only a map and compass, once that's done. We can meet up in Canterlot as the last place on our map. Take it as a race of sorts. We'll see who's the better __traveler! Obviously I got a head-start, so I'm not expecting you to win, anyways. I'm willing to put five-hundred bits on me winning, and you can bet that I'll keep that promise. I've got a little surprise for when you finish, anyway. Anyway, I'll see you later. Remember to mark every town on your map when you visit it. And don't even THINK about cheating. Believe me, I'll know if you cheat or not. I suppose I'm running out of paper to write on, and that shopkeeper's giving me a weird look, so I'd best be going. I'm just following a rule here: Get in, Get out, and don't ask any questions along the way. Simple, right? Happy travels, Mute. May Celestia grant you luck._

_-Your friend, Cruise_

Mute finished reading the note with a perplexed expression on his face. He never took Cruise for the whole "challenge" ordeal. The idea did sound rather humorous, he would pay to see the look on Cruise's face if he actually beat him to Canterlot.

"Ya done reading there, son? Yer holding up business as it is." The shopkeeper bellowed.

"...A compass, please." Mute asked.

Mute shuffled around in his sleep, feeling his eyes open slowly, he instantly closed them again at the sight of Celestia's golden (and not to mention, blinding) sun. He let his eyes adjust to the brightness before pulling himself up from the ground, he shook his limbs a little to make sure that he had complete control over his body yet again. He looked down at Ponyville with a smile on his face. He reached into his saddlebag; The same one he had on that day. And pulled out a large map, he unfolded the map to reveal a large portion of Equestria, with multiple towns and cities scrawled with a black cross. He reached into his saddlebag once more and pulled out a quill and a bottle of bottled ink. He opened the ink bottle and dipped his quill into it. He then located Ponyville on the map and proceeded to draw a large black cross over the area with as much happiness as a foal with hoof-painting. He put the ink and quill back into his saddlebag and lowered the map to see Ponyville, and Canterlot in the distance.

"Don't think I've forgotten about that deal we had, Cruise. These last few years of travelling made me a fast stallion... It'll be good to see you again, old friend." Mute said to himself as he enjoyed the view of Ponyville with a smile on his face. He looked back at the map, where a large city was drawn not too far away from where Mute currently was, a large circle was drawn around the city, with several arrows pointing to it.

"I was young and stupid when I made this decision... And I don't regret a minute of it." Mute said with a small chuckle.

**Yeah, so I made one of those flash-backy dealies this chapter (I mean it was kind of a dream sequence mixed in with some flashba- Oh fuck off.) But the OC thing I did so-many days ago had ended, I have made a decision on what OC that I'm going to add to the story. Now, this may cause some confusion, as most of you are probably like "But what about Fluttershy, Cupzy?" Well... I got some gears in my brain that are grudgingly toiling away, slowly feeding me ideas for a storyline. But I've got an idea, and it might get more difficult towards the end...**


	5. A Little Extra

**So yeah... Chapter's a little bit late again, due to the fact that summer has just hit, my hay fever is going mental right now, and it happened to be particularly bad yesterday and I didn't feel too well. Speaking of the weather, What. It was raining a few days ago and now it's SUN SUN AND MORE SUN in England. Good god is it hot now... Seriously, England must have some idiot tied up in the basement of someone's house pulling random levers that make the weather change. IT WAS SNOWING NOT TOO LONG AGO. *Sigh* Oh well, enough about my hatred towards the sun, to the story! *Old fashioned batman transition tune plays***

Mute folded up his map and put it back in his saddlebag, a smile still adorning his features. He had seen a lot during the few years he had been travelling, Manticores, Timberwolves, and the occasional Changeling camp. But his goal seemed to keep him going, he wanted to beat Cruise. Not just for the money, but simply because he had spent the last few years of his life doing this, and he would personally ask Princess Celestia to send him to the pits of Tartarus if he lost. He breathed in deeply, taking in the breeze of the countryside. He was about to go back to sleep before his mind managed to focus on one thing.

"Buck! The farm work!" Mute shouted to himself, he secured his saddlebag and started to gallop towards Sweet Apple Acres. He ended up stopping halfway to his destination to ask somepony for the time, he came across a grey coated Pegasus who had her eyes in an... Odd position.

"2:30!" The Pegasus announced before flying off, the saddlebag she was carrying dropping several letters as she flew away. Mute was about to question the sanity of the mare before shaking his head and continuing to gallop through Ponyville. By the time he had reached the designated area, he was panting heavily.

_"I wonder how much work I actually did yesterday... It all seemed to happen so fast..." _Mute thought. He used the remaining ounce of strength he had in his body to shuffle towards the small house that Applejack and her family resided in. He gave the door a knock, he took the opportunity to sit on his flank and catch his breath. By the time Applejack had answered the door, Mute was just picking himself back up from the ground, but was immediately thrown back down from a violent hug from Applejack. He let out a yelp of surprise before falling over once more, his back making collision with the ground. Applejack pulled away from the hug, giving Mute a punch on the shoulder.

"Where have ya'll been?! We was worried sick about ya! Ya just left yesterday in that condition!" Applejack shouted, Mute was tired, and the last thing he needed right now was a lecture.

"...I'm here for work..." Mute replied.

"Well, ya see. If ya had stayed for a few more minuted, Ah'd tell ya that we don't need anymore of yer help." Applejack said. Mute raised an eyebrow at this, assuming that Applejack was trying to subtly say that he wasn't any use on the farm.

"Cause... After ya left, me and Big Mac went into the orchard to look for them apples that ya'll said ya gathered... And... We were mighty surprised, tah say the least." Applejack continued. Mute was still confused.

"Ah'm honestly surprised yer still alive after what ya'll did. Ya done harvested nearly half the dang orchard!" Applejack finished. Mute was now convinced that Applejack was bucking with him.

"..." Mute remained silent, still not sure if Applejack was telling the truth or not.

"Now Ah'm not exa- Exagger- Uh... Exaggerating! when ah say that ya'll saved us a mighty long amount o' time. So we figured that ya'll wanted to take a rest for today." Applejack said. Mute was still having trouble believing the cowpony, sure, he was determined after knowing how many bits were on the line, but he never expected to harvest half the orchard. It would certainly explain why he blacked out...

"...Uh... Thanks... I guess?" Mute replied. He was about to turn around when Applejack grabbed his hoof and dropped twenty bits into his hoof.

"A little extra... Ya'll deserve it after what ya done. Don't go spendin' it all in one place, now." Applejack said before trotting back inside of the house. Mute simply stared at his hoof, both dumbfounded and outright ecstatic at the amount of bits that he currently had in his hand. After he heard the door to the house close, he did a short hoof-pump in the air, wearing one of the most Pinkie Pie-esque smiles he had ever donned.

"Twenty whole bits... What am I gonna spend you all on?" Mute asked himself, expecting the bits to come to life and teach him about finance. He let out a content sigh when nothing happened, the same goofy smile still gracing his lips. His stomach growled loudly, he realized he hadn't had anything to eat today so far, and that run really took it out of him.

"Hmm... Shoulda asked Applejack if she could spare an apple or two..." Mute said as his stomach let out another quiet growl.

"Must be a cafe around here somewhere..." He said to himself as he trotted to the outside of the farm. He walked back into the center of town, keeping his eyes peeled for any sort of cafe as ponies shot odd glances at him whenever his stomach growled anywhere near them. He eventually came across a quaint little outdoor cafe that was open, the cafe was nigh full of ponies, with only a few tables left that weren't surrounded by other ponies. Mute could spot a large rain cloud heading towards Ponyville, so he decided to make his trip short and sweet. He walked into the cafe, seating himself on one of the small chairs next to to an equally small table. After a few moments of tapping his hoof against the table in boredom, a Unicorn mare wearing a sharp suit trotted up to Mute, a small notepad being levitated by a gray aura of magic.

"Hello sir, may I take your order?" The mare asked politely, a small hint of depression lurked in her voice.

"A daisy sandwich, please." Mute replied, the Unicorn made some small scribbles on her notepad before walking away, Mute was left tapping his hoof against the table yet again. Over the small houses on the other side of the road, Mute could see the rain cloud moving in closer, it seems the weather Pegasi really wanted to get on the ball today. He assumed the rain would last throughout the night, which meant he had to find some shelter for the night. A small creaking noise was heard opposite Mute, he reared his head towards the opposite end of the table. A Unicorn mare had taken a seat next to Mute, her coat was a light purple that somewhat resembled what Mute could remember of Twilight Sparkle, her mane was the same color as her coat and it looked like it naturally formed into several small curls. From what Mute could see, her eyes appeared to be some form of green. Her ears were down, conveying some kind of depressed state to Mute. The two ponies stared at each other for a few seconds, Mute showing a look of confusion while the Unicorn simply kept her mouth in a small straight line.

"...Yes?..." Mute asked. The Unicorn remained silent, putting her hooves together on the table.

"...Can I help you...?" Mute asked again, hoping that the Unicorn had the decency to answer.

"...There were no more tables left..." The mare said quietly. Mute turned his attention to the rest of the cafe, sure enough, every other table had been taken, with the late exception of the seat opposite Mute.

"...I see..." Mute muttered, a small plate surrounded by a magical aura dropped down in front of him along with a small piece of paper, on the plate resided a daisy sandwich, with what Mute assumed was the bill lying next to it.

"May I take your order?" The waiter Unicorn asked, directing her attention to the Unicorn sitting opposite Mute.

"...I'll have a salad, please..." The Unicorn answered. The waiter trotted away once more, leaving Mute and the Unicorn alone again. Mute eyed the sandwich in front of him, he felt it was impolite to eat in front of somepony who was waiting for their food.

"...Uh... You... Got a name?" Mute asked nervously. The Unicorn still wore a blank expression, hard to decipher if she was irritated or neutral.

"...Koda..." The mare known as "Koda" replied.

"Well... Uh... I'm... I'm Mute... Nice to... Uh... Nice to meet you..." Mute said, outstretching his hoof in a friendly gesture, he then noticed that his hoof was slightly shaking. He pulled it back before Koda could grasp it, eyeing it carefully.

_"Haven't had any sugar recently... Or exercise... What in Celestia's name is wrong with me?" _Mute asked himself.

"...Is something wrong?" Koda asked, speaking a sentence that actually conveyed the smallest drop of emotion.

"Uh... I-It's nothing... So... Koda, huh? I've never heard of a name like that before..." Mute said, trying to change the subject.

"...It's to do with my special talent..." Koda replied. Mute raised an eyebrow, not sure what she was getting at. Koda left her chair, turning her body around to show Mute her cutie mark, it depicted a small crosshair-like object.

"N-Never took you for a marksmare..." Mute said. Koda shook her head, a small smirk forming on her lips for a second.

"...It's called a coda... It's a musical symbol..." Koda explained.

"...Ah... So you're a musician...?" Mute asked. Koda nodded slowly.

"...Yes..." She replied.

"...D-Do you play an instrument?" Mute asked.

"...I can play a wide variety of instruments... I was very gifted as a filly..." Koda explained.

"T-That's always good to hear..." Mute replied.

_"The buck's wrong with you, Mute? You're acting too open-minded to this mare! Calm down a little!" _Mute's subconscious told him.

_"T-There's something different about her!" _Mute argued back. Koda was shooting an odd glare at Mute, he had probably just missed something.

"...I-I'm sorry! What did you say?" Mute asked.

"...I asked you for your name..." Koda replied. Mute did a mental face-hoof. He had forgotten to properly introduce himself.

"Oh! I apologize! Ponies tend to call me... Mute..." He replied.

"...And you call my name interesting?" Koda replied, Mute let out a nervous laugh.

"Yeah... I've got a knack for being shy around ponies..." Mute replied.

"...You don't seem very shy around me..." Koda said.

"Well... I..." Mute started. Koda let out an almost inaudible giggle at the earth pony's antics. Just then, the waiter mare appeared and put down a small salad on Koda's side, along with another bill. Mute took the opportunity to take a bite of his sandwich, looking at the bill as he did so, he could easily afford five bits.

"...The food here's a bit expensive..." Mute said. Koda looked up from her salad and picked up her own bill.

"Fifteen bits... I'm pretty sure I can afford that..." Koda said nervously. Mute shrugged and took another bite of his sandwich, he looked into the sky to see the rain cloud had moved even closer.

"...Rain's coming..." Mute said. Koda looked away from her bill to gaze at the sky, her face bore a worried expression when she saw the cloud.

"Oh dear... Do you think it will last long? The rain, I mean." Koda asked. Mute squinted his eyes to get a better look at the cloud, it was about the size of Ponyville.

"...I'd say it will probably last through the night..." Mute replied.

"Hm? How can you be so sure?" Koda asked.

"It looks like it. Plus, I tend to know a lot about the weather, being a traveler and all..." Mute replied.

"Oh, you travel for a living?" Koda asked.

"Not a living, more of a... Race..." Mute replied. Koda's ears lifted a little at this, probably being interested in the subject.

"A... A race?" Koda said.

_"What're you doing Mute?! Don't go telling anybody about you and Cruise!" _Mute's subconscious shouted.

"...A race between me and... An old friend..." Mute replied.

"...So I suppose you will be leaving at some point?" Koda asked.

"I'm working at Sweet apple acres right now, once I get paid, I'm off." Mute replied.

"I see..." Koda replied, finishing her salad. Mute took the last bite of his sandwich before reaching into his saddlebag and pulling out a few bits, placing them on top of his bill. Koda magically levitated some bits onto the table, counting them up as she did so. The grand total came to seven bits.

"Oh no! I... I don't have enough to pay..." Koda said, a worried expression formed on her face. She hung her head low, trying to think of a decent explanation to why she couldn't pay. She looked back up to see Mute tossing a few of the small coins onto her side of the table, eight more, as a matter of fact. He put his wallet back into his saddlebag.

"...W-Why did you-" Koda continued before Mute lifted his hoof towards her.

"I don't do that to just everypony, you know. Count yourself lucky." Mute said, his gaze affixed onto Koda's.

"...You didn't have to..." Koda said.

"I wanted to." Mute replied quickly. He spotted the rain cloud hovering over the edge of Ponyville, he got out of his chair and started to trot towards the center of town, but before he could bring himself to a trotting pace, he felt his hoof being pulled back, he looked behind him to see Koda using her magic to grab Mute's hoof, her horn glowing a color similar to her mane.

"...What?..." Mute asked. He was interrupted at the end of his sentence by Koda, who planted a small kiss on Mute's left cheek. She pulled back quickly, blushing furiously.

"...Thank you..." She whispered quietly before trotting away. Mute brought his hoof to his cheek, his mouth agape.

"I... She just... And then..." Mute stammered to himself as the purple mare trotted away, unbeknownst to Mute, a small smile escaping her lips. Mute turned away and started to trot towards the small tree that he made home to the previous night.

"Get in, get out, and don't ask any questions while you're there... Get in, get out, and don't ask any questions while you're there..." Mute chanted silently to himself, still dumbstruck as he held his hoof to his cheek. He continued like this until he found his way back to the small tree that he slept under, luckily, the rain didn't do much to penetrate the leaves of the trees, with the occasional drop falling through the less-protected areas. Mute picked an area of the tree that wasn't dripping every fives seconds. The rain was still rather heavy, despite the protection the tree was giving to him. The noise of the rain hitting against the blades of grass ensured that Mute was going to have a hard time getting to sleep tonight, and above all else, he was cold. Sweet Celestia, was he cold. The saddlebag did little to suppress the chilling breeze that ran through the undergrowth of the tree. The grass where Mute laid down on was damp and uncomfortable. But he didn't notice any of these things, his mind was still plagued by thoughts of Koda, all the while his hoof still attached to his cheek.

**Oh man this was a late chapter, wasn't it? I done fucked up this time around... In other news, tomorrow's my birthday! Yaaaaay! *Plays unfitting carnival music accompanied by random explosions of streamers and confetti* And not only that, tomorrow also marks my third month of actually writing fanfics! ****Yaaaaay! *Plays unfitting carnival music accompanied by random explosions of streamers and confetti*** I wanted to make a super-long chapter for this (Momentous?) Occasion but unfortunately HAY FEVER HAD TO TAKE IT'S TOLL. THANK YOU ALLERGIES. Oh man and I just sneezed there -_- OH THE IRONY. **Peace.**

**-Cupzy**


	6. Downpour

**AH! HOW MANY DAYS HAS IT BEEN?! I HAVE BEEN RECENTLY AWAKENED FROM CRYOGENIC REFRIGERATION... BECAUSE THAT'S A GOOD EXCUSE. But on a serious note: Wow. I was not expecting to get held back this far with my birthday and all. BUT NO MORE. I SWEAR ON THE SOUL OF JESUS CHRIST THAT THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE ON TIME. I SWEAR IT. **

Mute's left eye twitched slightly, he was right, no sleep. The rain had gotten heavier overnight and the small droplets from the tree had made small puddles next to where Mute was sitting. Whenever he felt himself almost fall asleep, a small drop would hit him on the head, bringing him to his senses. He grunted in frustration and picked himself up from the ground, accidentally stepping in one of the small puddles that collected around him.

"Need to find a better place to sleep..." He muttered to himself. He squinted his eyes towards the general direction of Ponyville, trying to see a fraction of light through the rain and darkness. He considered his options, he could either try and catch some sleep under the tree, which would be nigh impossible considering the weather condition, or he could gallop into Ponyville and look for somewhere decent enough to sleep. The sky was pitch black when coupled with the dreary haziness of the rain cloud, it certainly wasn't going to ease up anytime soon.

"No choice, I suppose..." He mumbled to himself, he backed himself up towards the tree and lowered his head,

_"Three...Two...One..." _Mute counted mentally before bringing one of his hooves forward, he felt a harshly cold wind blow against his face as he left the small cover of the tree, he felt a shiver run down his spine once the icy water made collision with his back. He kept his head faced down, moving his eyes up slightly to see what was ahead of him. Ponyville came into view a few moments later, the streets abandoned and all of the lights out. He ran past the familiar "Welcome to Ponyville" sign and rushed into the town, he felt part of his mane droop and cling to the top of his forehead. He ran under the closest cover he had available to him, which happened to be a small outdoor porch on the front of a house. He panted heavily once the roof of the porch had stopped the relentless onslaught of rain. He brushed a hoof over his mane, removing the small parts that were clinging to his forehead. He quickly removed his saddlebag and checked his belongings for anything that might have been damaged. Luckily, only the outside of the saddlebag seemed to get wet, while the inside still remained untouched. Mute spotted a small clock on the wall of the porch, it read 1:00 am.

"Sweet Celestia..." Mute mumbled to himself. The rain outside continued its downfall, the loud noises of droplets hitting the ground flushing out any other noise that Mute could hear. He put his saddlebag back on and looked outside of the porch. He scanned the immediate area for anywhere that had cover and was decent enough to sleep in. Mute noticed a small tree in the distance that lay in the town center, he shook his coat and tail before bracing himself for another gallop through the rain. He threw his head down and started to gallop towards the small tree, the raindrops still causing his back to freeze up. He felt the rain above him cease, and looked up to see that he had found himself under the small tree. This gave him a better vantage point than that of the small porch. A few shops and homes were scattered about the town center, all of them with their windows shut and doors probably locked.

"Somewhere to sleep... Somewhere to sleep... I wonder if Ponyville has a hotel or not..." Mute muttered to himself. He looked around for any sign of a building that looked vaguely like a hotel or inn. He noticed one building in particular that looked different from the rest, it was a few floors higher than any of the neighboring homes and had large double doors instead of the ordinary one door. Mute decided to label the large building as a hotel, and sighed deeply before getting himself back into a galloping position, he took off in the direction of the building he saw, and after a few moments, found himself scrambling at the doors of the building. He let out a small gasp as he realized the doors to be push doors, and found himself being thrown into the building via his own momentum. He hit the floor with a quiet *thud* Most of the sound being suppressed from the red carpet that adorned the floor of the building. He cursed under his breath before picking himself up from the floor, leaving a large damp spot where he originally lay. He looked ahead to see a young stallion behind a counter shooting an odd glance at him. Mute started walking towards the counter, shaking his coat as he did so.

"... May I help you?" The stallion asked.

"... A room..." Mute responded. The stallion pulled an uneasy expression at his forwardness.

"... A small room will cost you five bits per night, sir." The stallion explained. Mute took his saddlebag off and placed it on the counter, pulling out a small wallet from the saddlebag, Mute proceeded to toss five bits onto the table, sighing lightly as he eyed the remaining three he still held in his hoof. The stallion took the money hastily and placed it somewhere behind the counter. He tossed a small key across the counter towards Mute, a small "7" engraved on the side.

"You will be staying in room number seven." The stallion explained. Mute nodded and proceeded to walk to the small staircase that led to the upper floors. One floor only held five rooms, which meant Mute was staying on the second floor. He was about to walk to his respective room before the door to room number six creaked open slightly. Mute stopped to let the pony pass through the hallway. Mute was surprised to see a familiar mare trotting out into the hallway. The mare returned a gaze of surprise before melting into a scene of awkwardness.

"...Koda...?" Mute asked quietly. The mare in question brushed her hoof across the floor gently, avoiding eye contact with Mute.

"O-Oh... Mute... I... I didn't expect to see you here..." Koda answered. She raised her head up after speaking her sentence, leaving Mute to notice something he hadn't noticed before; A slightly thin white streak traveled from Koda's tail to the top of her eye, an indistinguishable feature, Mute assumed that the grimy weather yesterday managed to hide the streak enough so that Mute couldn't see it. Koda raised an eyebrow slowly, looking at Mute with a confused gaze.

"...Why are you just looking at me?" Koda asked. Mute shook his head and took a hoofstep back, an almost invisible blush decorating his cheeks.

"...I...Uh...S-Sorry... I just didn't notice that white streak that you've got..." Mute explained.

"...I see..." Koda replied. The two ponies simply stood at opposite ends of the corridor, the two of them both too shy and too embarrassed to utter a word. Eventually, Mute was the one who decided to ask a question.

"So... What brings you here...?" Mute asked.

"I... I just needed a place to stay for the night... I-I'm heading back to Canterlot in a few days time..." Koda replied.

"That's... That's exactly what I'm doing as well..." Mute said.

"...You look really tired..." Koda said.

_"Dear Celestia, you have no idea..." _Mute thought to himself.

"Yeah... I... I needed a better place to sleep for the night..." Mute replied.

"...Where were you sleeping originally?" Koda asked, a hint of concern in her voice.

"...U-Under a tree..." Mute replied. Koda's ears perked up at this, her look of concern turning into one of extreme horror.

"U-Under a tree?!" Koda asked. Mute rubbed the back of his head nervously, letting out a small chuckle.

"...Yeah... The rain got... A little heavy..." Mute replied. As if on cue, a small water droplet fell from Mute's coat and onto the red carpet.

"T-That's terrible!" Koda exclaimed. Mute remained silent, it was now his turn to drag his hoof across the ground.

"Well... I suppose you need the rest..." Koda continued.

"...Yeah... I'd best get to my room..." Mute replied, trotting towards his room and pulling out the small key. He pushed the key into the small hole near the knob and turned it slowly, the sounds of small mechanisms turning and activating. A small *click* was heard and the door to Mute's room cracked open. He was about to enter his room when he heard a voice from behind him.

"...Mute... About yesterday..." Koda said, her voice trailing off towards the end. Mute sighed.

_"Here we go..." _Mute thought.

"I... I just wanted you to know... I-It was just for a thank you... I-It didn't mean anything..." Koda said. Mute nodded through her conversation, the only sound that he actually managed to hear was a small piece of his heart breaking off and shattering into a hundred pieces.

"...Alright... I-I mean... Of course! I-I don't want to impose..." Mute said, a hint of sadness lacing his words. Koda let out a nervous laugh, attempting to ease the atmosphere. Mute mentally slapped himself for stuttering so much.

_"You've got a race to continue, Mute. No time for trivial things like mares..." _His subconscious told him.

_"But she said she was going to Canterlot in a few days! It wouldn't hurt to accompany her, you know." _Mute argued back.

_"And what gives you the impression that she's willing to travel with a complete stranger that she accidentally planted a kiss on? She's not interested, Mute." _His subconscious argued back. Mute sighed in defeat at his own mind, straightening himself up when he realized that Koda was still standing next to him.

"...I suppose I'll be seeing you..." Mute said.

"...Yes... Goodnight..." Koda muttered before trotting back inside of her own room. Mute mimicked the action with his own room, his neutral expression turning into a large frown when he entered the room. He set his saddlebag down and essentially collapsed onto the single bed in the far corner of the room.

"Get in, get out, and don't ask any questions while you're there..." Mute recited to himself, chanting the phrase a few times before picking himself up from the bed.

"Still got a job to do... I'll get to Canterlot... And hopefully... At some point... I'll see her again..." Mute said. He chuckled to himself at the thought.

"Last town on the map... The last town until Canterlot... And what happens? I fall for a mare... Certainly doesn't sound like me..." Mute continued. He trotted over to his saddlebag and pulled out the small map from the inside of it. He unfolded the map until he could see the whole of Equestria sketched down onto one piece of paper.

"I've explored everywhere... Apart from Canterlot... And the Griffon Colonies... But it's a bit of a trek to get over there... And Cruise didn't say anything about going to where the Griffons were..." Mute said. He folded the map back up and tucked it back into his saddlebag. He placed it next to the bed before crawling under the covers. Praying to Celestia that he didn't wake up late this time around.

**AND IT'S SHORT TOO! WOW, WHAT A GREAT PERSON I AM! BREAK OUT THE CUPCAKES BECAUSE I JUST WROTE THE LONGEST CHAPTER EVER! #SarcasmSarcasm But yes... Wow... Oh jeez... I really need to get back on schedule... But do not worry! For I promise that if I do not upload the next chapter on time, then you may tie me up onto a table and have crows peck my innards and eyes out!**


	7. Triangles

**No... No... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! So I kinda promised that I'd upload this chapter on time, and I kinda said that I'd get back on schedule from here on out... But I kinda messed that entire plan up, didn't I? And I promise to upload the next chapter on time, blah blah blah, you may read the story now.**

A small ray of sunshine came through a small window at the opposite end of the room, the small ray of light quickly travelling to the small bed situated in the corner of the room, finding it's mark on the closed eyelids of the stallion sleeping on the bed. After a few seconds of the bright sunlight penetrating his eyelids, the stallion strained his eyes slightly before opening a small crack, instantly closing again at the sight of the bright sun. He let out an almost inaudible groan as he shuffled around slightly in his bed, most of the covers rearing over the left side of the bed, leaving his right leg exposed.

_"So tired... Not enough sleep last night... And it looks like early afternoon already... Which means... That I'm late!" _Mute summed up in his mind before instantly thrusting himself upwards from the bed, his vision went disoriented for a moment due to the sudden movement before returning back to normal after a few seconds, he regained his composure and practically leaped from his bed, his forehead making an unfortunately painful collision with the floor. Despite the comfy-looking red carpet, the floor still felt like unorganized planks of wood. He groaned in pain and reared himself up from the ground, brushing his head slightly with his hoof as he raised himself to three hooves. He shook his head slightly before trotting over to his saddlebag and securing it onto his side. He felt his forehead with his hoof before drawing it back, seeing a small drop of blood had collected onto his hoof. He moaned in frustration as he trotted over to the window, focusing his vision on the small reflection he could see of himself. Sure enough, a small trickle of blood was escaping from a small scratch on his forehead. He brushed the remaining blood from his forehead and continued to the door, brushing his forehead every ten seconds or so to check for any more blood. After making his way down to the bottom floor, the bleeding had ceased to a small extent, and only limited itself to a small red spot on his forehead, which made him look rather ridiculous. He pushed open one of the doors at the front of the hotel and held his hoof to his eyes as the bright sunlight bore down on him. He scanned the area and remembered the path to Sweet Apple Acres. He galloped off in the direction that he remembered as the pathway, noticing several strange looks being thrown at him from the occasional pony passing by.

He eventually came to a halt at the entrance to Sweet Apple Acres, where the sound of something cracking could be heard from the apple orchard. He trotted over to the small house in the farm, taking deep breaths to regain his composure, he knocked on the door a few times and waited for an answer, allowing himself to catch his breath. After a few moments, the door opened, revealing the large bulk of a dark red stallion, Mute had to tilt his head slightly when speaking to Big Macintosh, which made him feel a tad bit intimidated. The two remained silent for a moment, simply looking at each other with bored expressions on their faces.

"Can Ah help ya'll?" Big Mac eventually asked.

"...I'm here for work..." Mute replied. Big Mac stared at Mute for a moment, his gaze directed above Mute's eyes.

"...Ya done hurt yerself?" Big Mac asked. Mute pulled a confused expression before placing his hoof on his forehead, pulling it back to reveal a small drop of blood.

"...Yeah..." Mute replied, remembering what happened to him during his hasty leave from the hotel. Big Mac shot a glance to the inside of his home, eyeing something on the wall.

"Yer a bit late." Big Mac said, returning his gaze to Mute's.

"Long story..." Mute replied. Big Mac shrugged.

"Applejack should be out in the orchard. She'll give ya something to do." Big Mac said, pointing a hoof towards the apple orchard. Mute nodded and proceeded to trot towards the apple orchard, following the faint noises of hooves cracking against a tree trunk. He eventually spotted the orange mare bucking a particularly large apple tree. She stopped bucking after seeing Mute, trotting over to him while panting slightly.

"Afternoon Mute... Yer a bit late, ain't ya?" Applejack said. Mute simply nodded in response.

"Well, anyway. We got some deliveries to be makin' today. There's a few sacks lying outside of th' barn, could ya deliver them to Fluttershy and Rarity?" Applejack asked.

"...Rarity?" Mute asked.

"Hm? Ya'll haven't met Rarity yet? Have ya seen that building in town that looks like one of them carousel dealies?" Applejack asked. Mute nodded in response, he had seen a building that fitted Applejack's description. He saw it on the way to the farm.

"Great! And ah know that ya'll have met Fluttershy already." Applejack continued. Mute nodded once more and turned around to head back to the farm. Once he had finally made it out of the apple orchard, he headed towards the barn that could be seen from the house. He spotted two small burlap sacks next to the barn, he managed to fit one inside of his saddlebag while he had to carry the other sack in his mouth. He felt the small strain on his jaw as he lifted the bag up, and it took a few seconds for him to adjust his posture so that the bag wasn't weighing his front side down. He began to trot back to Ponyville, keeping his eyes open for the small carousel building that he saw earlier. After about fifteen minutes of walking through Ponyville, he eventually saw the peculiarly shaped building out of the corner of his eye. The building was overly garnished and stylized in a way that Mute thought impossible, he started to question why Applejack would associate herself with somepony upstanding in society. He walked up to the building and knocked on the door, he set the sack on the ground to relieve his jaw from some stress. The door was eventually answered by a pure white Unicorn mare with a curly and extremely groomed purple mane and tail.

_"Great... Probably an upstanding Pre-Canterlot citizen..." _Mute thought to himself.

"May I help you?" The mare asked.

"...Delivery..." Mute mumbled before giving the sack at his hooves a small kick towards the mare who he assumed was Rarity.

"Oh! You must be the stallion who Applejack mentioned! What was it again? Quiet? Silent?" The mare asked.

"...Mute..." He mumbled.

"Mute! That was it! A rather fitting name, I should sa-" The mare said before resting her eyes on Mute's saddlebag, pulling a horrified expression.

"My dear... What is that thing that you wear on your side?" The mare asked. Mute tilted his head to look at his saddlebag. The small bag itself had several scratches and tears along the side, and was a very dull brown color.

"...My bag..." Mute responded sarcastically.

"Just... Just look at that thing! Surely you cannot be regarded highly when carrying around such a vulgar accessory!" The mare said.

"...I've had it for a long time..." Mute replied.

"And it shows! The elements of nature have taken their toll on that poor bag! I simply must fix it!" The mare said.

"...Ain't necessary..." Mute replied. "...You're Rarity?" He asked.

"Hm? Oh yes! That would be me! I fall under the category of what you would call a "Fashionetta" Or simply a tailor. Whichever one you prefer." She replied. Mute gave the small sack on the floor another kick, sending it closer to Rarity.

"...Delivery..." He repeated. Rarity looked down at the small sack before using her magic to pick it up, placing it somewhere inside of the Boutique.

"Thank you darling... Now, are you going to let me fix up that saddlebag or not?" Rarity asked.

"...No..." Mute replied.

"But why not? I assure you that I will not damage it." Rarity exclaimed.

"...It's a memento..." Mute said quietly.

"A memento? To what, my dear?" Rarity asked curiously.

"...A promise..." Mute replied before turning around, he heard Rarity shouting his name a few times as he began to slowly trot away, after a few more feeble attempts at trying to catch his attention, he heard the door to the Boutique shut behind him with a loud *SLAM* Mute let out a quiet chuckle before trotting in the direction of the small tree that he had previously slept under, standing there should let him see Fluttershy's house easily. He made his way to the small hill where the tree resided and started to look out for Fluttershy's house. He eventually laid eyes upon a small cottage in the distance, a few small animal pens were set up around the cottage.

_"Considering Fluttershy's love for animals, that cottage is probably my best bet." _Mute thought to himself as he began to trot towards the cottage in the distance. He eventually came to the door of the cottage, he gave the door a knock and waited for a response.

"I-I'll be right down." Said a barely audible and muffled voice from the inside of the cottage. After a few moments, the cottage door opened to reveal a familiar small yellow Pegasus.

"O-Oh! H-Hello Mute..." Fluttershy said quietly once she had recognized Mute's face.

"...Delivery..." He mumbled in response before dropping the small sack of apples in front of the door.

"Thank you..." She said quietly, nudging the sack inside the cottage with her hoof.

"W-Would you like to come in...?" Fluttershy asked.

"...Sure..." Mute responded, his mouth moving seemingly of it's own volition. Fluttershy trotted back into the cottage, gesturing for Mute to follow her. Mute reluctantly stepped inside the cottage, silently cursing himself for accepting the offer. He pulled a confused expression when he saw several different woodland creatures quietly moving around the house.

"...I h-hope you don't mind the animals... I wasn't expecting any visitors..." Fluttershy said quietly.

"...You weren't lying when you said you liked animals..." Mute muttered, Fluttershy appeared to perk up at this, a small smile forming on her lips.

"Oh yes! I love every kind of animal!" Fluttershy exclaimed softly. Mute was taken aback when a small rabbit hopped towards him, snarling viciously and waving it's paws around in a clawing manner.

"A-Angel... Please don't scare our guest..." Fluttershy said. The bunny grumbled something and hopped away.

"...What was that?" Mute asked.

"Oh, that was just Angel... He gets very cautious around new ponies..." Fluttershy explained quietly. Mute nodded in agreement, deciding that avoiding the small spawn of Tartarus would probably benefit him for the better. He walked over to a window and peered outside, Celestia's sun was already starting to lower over the horizon, a large red color decorated the sky and clouds from the direction of which it was setting.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Fluttershy said quietly, Mute turned his head to notice Fluttershy standing next to him, and in Mute's opinion; A bit too close for comfort.

"...I should get going..." Mute said.

"Oh... D-Do you have somewhere to sleep for the night?" Fluttershy asked.

"...The tree..." Mute muttered in response.

"...Oh... Well... I-If you want... You could... S-Stay here for the night..." Fluttershy offered, hiding her face behind her bright pink mane. Mute considered his options, he didn't have enough bits to afford another night at the hotel, and the tree wasn't exactly the most comfortable place in Equestria.

"Where would I sleep?" Mute asked.

"...Well... I-I could sleep on the couch... And you could have my bed... I-I mean... If that's okay with you..." Fluttershy said. Mute pondered on his options for a moment. A bed sounded comfortable, but he wouldn't exactly be benefiting Fluttershy by making her sleep on the couch.

"...Why not just the other way around?" Mute asked again.

"...I-I figured that you wanted to get a good night's sleep for once..." Fluttershy replied.

"...A couch would give me a better night's sleep than any bed..." Mute said.

"A-Are you sure? I mean... I-It's no bother... Really..." Fluttershy said.

"...Look... I'm not about to disrupt somepony's daily life for my own gain. If I'm staying here, then I'd be more than happy to take the couch." Mute said, being more assertive than he had ever been in his life. Fluttershy was taken aback slightly by his remark.

"If... If that's what you want... Then I suppose that's alright..." Fluttershy said, the vast majority of her features still hidden behind her mane. Mute said nothing, he simply trotted over to the small couch pressed up against the wall of the cottage and set his saddlebag down. He prodded the couch with his hoof, it didn't feel very comfortable, but it was still one-hundred times better than that accursed tree he had to sleep on most nights. He clambered onto the couch and set his head down on the small hoof-rest on the side. He noticed how heavy his eyes felt for the first time that day, he closed his eyes slowly, the sweet embrace of sleep waiting for him. He was about to fall asleep before he heard hooves clopping against the wooden floor of the cottage towards him, he kept his eyes shut, trying to shut the annoyance off by making deep breathing noises. His breath stopped however, when he felt something brush against his cheek slightly, he couldn't exactly tell what was going on, but the faint feeling of warm air blowing against his coat gave him the impression that some sort of living creature was on him. He dared not open his eyes, worrying that some sort of dangerous creature was going to attack him. The feeling eventually subsided after several seconds, a distinctly wet feeling left behind on his cheek.

"Thank you... That was very sweet of you..." He heard the familiar voice of Fluttershy say. He kept his eyes shut and breathed normally, giving off the impression that he was asleep. He heard an extremely faint giggle before the sound of Fluttershy trotting away from him was heard. Once the noise had subsided. He moved his hoof to his cheek and processed the information that his brain was currently feeding him. He wasn't being attacked by some sort of foreign creature, far from it, in fact.

Fluttershy had just kissed him.

**OH. MY. GAWWWWWWWWWD. THIS CHAPTER CAME OUT LATER THAN I THOUGHT IT WOULD. OH DEAR LORD I AM A HORRIBLE HORRIBLE PERSON. I PROMISE THAT THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE ON TIME OR SO HELP ME GOD THAT I WILL NAIL MYSELF TO A MICROWAVE. *Cough* Alright... Now that my brief episode of insanity is covered, let's get down to business, shall we? I actually do have a viable excuse for not uploading this chapter on time, and that's I JUST GOT A NEW PUPPEH :3 My mother decided it was a good idea to buy a dog without any consent whatsoever, so I've been kind of drooling over this new puppy for the past few days. We named him Hamish McDougle (The latter being added by yours truly) Because we're Scottish, so that apparently works. I'll say it once more: I PROMISE TO GET THE NEXT CHAPTER UPLOADED ON TIME. Peace.  
**


	8. Regret

**It's on time... My god... It's ON TIME. **

Mute tensed his eyebrows slightly before opening them slowly, one at a time. He blinked a few times to ready his sleep-encrusted eyes for the day ahead. He lay there for a few minutes until finally pushing himself into a sitting position. He let out a long yawn before grabbing his saddlebag from the floor. He reluctantly left the cozy confines of the couch and trotted over to the nearby window, he peered out to see the small pathway that led to Ponyville.

_"*Sigh* I've been in this town for far too long... A little over a week... Longer than any previous town I've ever been to... I'd best tell Applejack that I'll be leaving soon, hopefully she'll just pay me on the spot..." _Mute thought to himself. He pulled away from the window and looked around the house he was in.

_"Oh yeah... I'm at Fluttershy's house, aren't I? What time did I go to sleep at? I can barely remember anything from last night... Except..." _Mute thought. As realization dawned on him, he felt a slight blush appear on his cheeks. He coughed nervously, trying to ease the non-existent atmosphere around him.

_"S-Should probably get out of here..." _He thought. He trotted to the front door and pushed it open, he raised his hoof to shield his eyes from the bright rays of sunshine. Any other Pony would have said that the weather was great. Mute, on the other hand, would rather jump into the gates of Tartarus than be outside on such a sunny day. He always preferred the rain or the night... Assuming that either one wasn't in his way. He turned around and closed the door behind him, he turned back around to see a small Bunny blocking his path.

"...Can I help you?" Mute asked sarcastically. He recognized the Bunny as the small demon that Fluttershy had ironically named Angel. He started to make several cryptic signs with his hands, usually accompanied with a few squeaks.

"...I have no idea what you're trying to say..." Mute said when Angel paused for a moment. Angel shook his head slightly and pointed to the door that he had just left from.

"...Yeah... That's a door, alright." Mute said, craning his head back to look at the door. Angel made a small growl of frustration, he continued pointing at the door.

"...What? Did I forget something?" Mute asked, checking his saddlebag for anything that was missing. Another frustrated growl from Angel occurred. He lay down on the ground and pretended he was asleep, making large snoring noises.

"...I had a pretty good night's sleep last night, thanks for asking." Mute replied. Angel raised himself from the ground and placed his hand against his face, shaking it slowly.

"...If you need anything, why don't you just ask Fluttershy?" Mute asked. At the mention of Fluttershy's name, Angel started pointing randomly in Mute's direction.

"...Something about... Fluttershy?" Mute asked. Angel finally managed an exasperated nod.

"...What about her...?" Mute asked. Angel raised his arm and started to shake his hand in the air.

"...You want me to say goodbye...?" Mute asked flatly. Angel nodded in response.

"...She's asleep... I don't think she'd-" Mute was about to finish his sentence when a soft, barely audible voice came from the other side of the door.

"...M-Mute...? Are you there...?" The quiet voice asked. Mute turned his attention back to Angel, who folded his arms and shot a glance saying "I told you so" Mute let out a sigh.

"...I'm late enough to work as it is. You owe me one..." He said to Angel. Mute turned back around and slowly reached for the door, just before he could press his hoof against the door, it suddenly swung open, leaving Mute unbalanced. He fell forward, his chest hitting the floor while his forelegs were sprawled out on his front. He looked up with a slight groan to see Fluttershy with a worried look on her face.

"O-Oh my! I-I'm so sorry Mute, I didn't mean to..." Fluttershy said quickly. Mute picked himself up from the floor, dusting off his coat and straightening his mane out.

"...No harm done..." Mute responded.

"I-I'm sorry... I wondered where you had gone..." Fluttershy said quietly.

"...I figured I would just leave you to your sleep and be on my way..." Mute replied.

"Oh... Thank you... That's very sweet of you..." Fluttershy said quietly.

_"Thank you... That was very sweet of you..." _The familiar sentence echoed in Mute's head as if his brain was completely hollow.

"...Thanks... I suppose..." Mute muttered in response.

"W-Would you like something to eat...?" Fluttershy asked quietly. Despite the quiet rumbles of Mute's stomach, he was already late for work at the farm.

"...Thanks, but I'm probably going to leave soon..." Mute replied.

"O-Oh... Well... Tell Applejack that I said hello..." Fluttershy said.

"Well... I... plan on... Leaving Ponyville soon as well..." Mute said, rubbing the back of his head nervously. Fluttershy lowered her ears, her face hiding behind her pink mane.

"...R-Really...?" Fluttershy asked.

"...Yeah... Like I said, I'm a traveler... I don't stay in one place for too long..." Mute replied.

"I-Is there any way that you could... Stay...?" Fluttershy asked nervously.

"...No..." Mute answered. The two remained silent for a moment, with Fluttershy hiding her eyes behind her mane.

"W-Well... I hope you have... A good time travelling..." Fluttershy eventually said.

"...I-I'm only heading to Canterlot... Just a few things to settle..." Mute said quietly.

"...I'm sure Applejack is expecting you..." Fluttershy said.

"...Yeah... I'll be going now..." Mute said, hastily accepting the chance of escape from the awkward situation. He walked towards the door, giving it a slight push as he shot one more glance at Fluttershy.

"And Mute?" Fluttershy said suddenly. Mute gave a short grunt to show he was listening.

"You weren't... Awake... Last night... Were you...?" Fluttershy asked, Mute could have sworn that he saw the faintest scarlet color show on her face.

"...Slept like a log..." He replied, lying through his teeth. He pushed the door open, making his way to the small pathway that led to Ponyville. Surprisingly, Angel stood there with a pained expression on his face, once Fluttershy closed the door behind him, he leaned his head down to look at Angel.

"...Now you see why I didn't want to say goodbye?" He rhetorically asked. Angel gave a small nod in response, a large frown still covering his face. Mute continued walking into Ponyville, giving the town one last look-over before heading towards Sweet Apple Acres. Ponyville wasn't exactly like the other towns he had visited, it was as simple as get in, get paid, and get back out again. But he'd spent so much time in Ponyville, he had made "friends" to a moderate extent, and he was getting a steady supply of bits coming in from Sweet Apple Acres.

_"Maybe it'd just be best if I stayed here... Cruise has probably already beaten me to Canterlot... Poor stallion's probably been there for months... But... I can get to Canterlot, and then what? I'd have nowhere to go from there... So... Maybe I could come back here...? I've done so much moving around that it's impossible to tell what a real home feels like anymore... Not that I really had one to begin with..." _Mute thought to himself. He came to the familiar farm with the large apple orchard and walked up to the small house, he gave the door a knock and patiently waited for somepony to respond. After a few moments, Applejack opened the door with a smile on her face.

"Well, hey there, Sugercube! Ya'll ready for some work?" She said enthusiastically.

"...Leaving tomorrow..." Mute stated bluntly, Applejack's happy expression slowly turned into a worried frown, her ears lowering slightly at Mute's statement.

"Ya mean... After all this time ya spent here... Yer still leavin'?" Applejack asked. Mute simply nodded in response.

"Well, ah suppose I better hold up my end of the deal..." Applejack said before trotting back into the house. She came back a few minutes later with a small pouch that made several jingling noises as she carried it. She placed it on the ground in front of Mute.

"One-hundred bits. No more, no less." Applejack stated. Mute slowly picked the bag of bits up from the ground, placing it in his saddlebag, feeling slightly less ecstatic about taking the money than he had previously hoped.

"Listen... If ah give ya the day off... Will ya think about this? Ponies are really startin' tah get used to ya around these parts. Fluttershy in particular." Applejack explained. Guilt struck Mute's heart like a knife sinking through his chest, slowly puncturing his heart until there was nothing left.

"...Alright..." Mute replied. Applejack nodded solemnly before placing a hoof on his shoulder.

"And if ya do leave. Come back sometime, alright?" Applejack said. Mute said nothing, simply brushing Applejack's hoof off of his shoulder and turning around, trotting towards the entrance to the farm. He heard the door behind him shut, prompting a large sigh to escape his mouth. He continued trotting until he found himself back inside of Ponyville, he looked around for the particular service he wanted to use. After about an hour of searching, he finally found the building he was looking for. A small brick building with large windows on the front and back of the building, a door at the back of the building led to a large platform where one would sit waiting, a few benches scattered around the area. Behind the platform, two large iron bars ran along a pathway that stretched for miles, countless wooden boards positioned under the iron bars. He entered the building and walked up to the stallion that sat behind a small counter in the corner of the room.

"May I help you, sir?" The stallion asked rather groggily, the bottom of his eyes littered with small bags that hinted greatly as sleep deprivation. Mute remained silent for a moment, simply staring into seemingly endless space before recollecting himself, shaking his head slightly. He let out a long sigh before looking the stallion in the eyes.

"...A ticket to Canterlot, please..." He said slowly and quietly.

**IT'S ON TIME! WOO! OVERWORKING FTW! Well, "overworking" is a bit of an overstatement, this chapter is a few words short of the area I'm comfortable with, but the main thing is that it's on time, because in the end, that's all that matters right?... Right?...**

**Peace.**

**-Cupzy**


	9. Crossing It Out

Reluctantly, Mute threw twenty bits onto the small counter, mouthing a saddened "Goodbye" before the bits were taken by the sleepy stallion and put behind the counter. After a few moments, the stallion hoofed over a small ticket in Mute's direction. He took the ticket from the stallion's hoof and placed it into his saddlebag. He sighed once more as he made his way towards the small platform outside of the train station, dismissing the sleep "Have a pleasant trip" from the stallion at the counter. He spotted a nearby bench and seated himself on it. Luckily, the train was only due in a half-hour or so.

_"Simple plan, get to Canterlot, meet up with Cruise, accept the fact that he won, fork over the hundred bits... That... He bet..." _Mute thought. The gears in his brain turned slowly, processing the information he had just fed himself. He eventually realized something, a "light bulb moment" If you could call it that. Only it wasn't a light bulb, Mute would rather have a heavy weight dangling over his head, falling on top of him and knocking him out, preferably never to awaken again.

_"Oh... Buck..." _He thought to himself. He HAD one-hundred bits, but not anymore. His eyes widened in realization as he slowly realized how doomed he was.

_"Alright... Calm down, Mute... Just a few minor adjustments to the plan is all... Go to Canterlot, AVOID Cruise if possible, come back and pretend nothing happened. Happy days for all..." _He thought, resisting the urge to repeatedly smash his head against the nearest brick wall.

_"...I've gotten through stuff like this before... It should be a breeze..." _Mute said, desperately trying to reassure himself. He could probably scramble together twenty bits before he met up with Cruise... Hopefully.

"I would rather Celestia sent me to the sun..." He said to himself, chuckling slightly at his own joke.

"...You don't hear that every day..." A voice said quietly.

"No... You don't..." Mute said in response. Realizing what he had just said, he craned his head around to see the pony who talked to him.

"...Fancy meeting you here..." Mute said quietly in response, his gaze now affixed to the pony standing in front of him. A Unicorn mare, nothing out of the ordinary, until he saw the cutie mark on her flank; A small crosshair, a coda, from what Mute had remembered. He raised his head again, staring the mare directly in the eyes.

"Good afternoon, Mute..." She said.

"...Afternoon, Koda..." Mute spoke quietly in response.

"...I never expected to see you here..." Koda said.

"...Bits were made... Time to move on..." He responded, giving his saddlebag a small shake, making the bits inside make a large jingling noise.

"...Where are you heading to...?" Koda asked.

"...Canterlot..." Mute replied, waving his ticket in the air.

"...Me too..." She replied, showing a ticket of her own.

"...How cliche..." Mute whispered to himself. **(Hey! Shut up Mute!)**

"I'll... Uh... I'll just be going..." Mute said, leaving the confines of the bench.

"O-Oh no... It's nothing... I can understand if you're embarrassed..." Koda replied. Despite not helping his place in the conversation at all, Mute's cheeks burned a bright crimson. He kept himself turned away from Koda, rearing his head back slightly to speak.

"...Why would I be embarrassed...?" Mute asked.

"...Well, from what I said a few nights ago... I was just worried that you were disappointed is all..." She replied.

"...I-I don't understand why I'd be disappointed..." Mute replied. Koda opened her mouth to speak, but let out a small sigh instead.

"So... Why are you heading to Canterlot...?" Koda asked after a few moments.

"...I'm a traveler... It's what I do..." Mute replied bluntly.

"...How long have you been traveling for?" Koda asked.

"...A few years..." Mute replied, Koda seemed genuinely surprised by his statement, she took a hoofstep back in surprise.

"...F-Few years?" She asked.

"...Yeah..." Mute replied.

"...B-But... Don't you have anywhere to go? Family? A home...?" Koda asked.

"...I never had any of those things to begin with..." Mute replied. Koda lowered her head slightly, prompting Mute to sigh.

"...I'm sorry..." She stated, her head still hung low.

"...Don't be..." Mute replied.

"...Wait... You've been travelling for a few years... And haven't been to Canterlot...?" Koda asked, a hint of disbelief laced onto her words.

"...Last place on my map..." Mute said, reaching into his saddlebag and pulling out a small, folded piece of paper and handing it to Koda. She levitated the paper over to her and unfolded it with her magic. Her eyes widened in surprise as she studied the map. Every single town in Equestria had been marked with a large black cross apart from Canterlot.

"...But... Surely... You must have a dream... Something that keeps you going...?" Koda replied.

"...I suppose I ain't telling you the whole story, am I?" Mute asked rhetorically.

"...Whole...Story...?" Koda repeated.

"A friend... The only one I ever had..." Mute started, prompting Koda to sit opposite him, listening in curiously to his story, her ears perked up in a state that made her look like she had a different personality.

"...You could call it a race, I suppose... First one to get to every single town in Equestria... And then to Canterlot..." Mute explained slowly.

"...And... You've been doing this for years...? Surely you must have a reason?" Koda asked. Mute let out a dry chuckle before continuing.

"...I was young... Stupid..." He started before trailing off, wondering to himself why he even accepted Cruise's offer in the first place.

"I... See..." Koda replied. The two sat in awkward silence for a few moments, constantly shooting glances at each other, waiting for one of them to say something.

"...So... Why are you heading to Canterlot...?" Mute asked.

"...I'm simply looking for work... I usually play music for expensive restaurants..." Koda replied.

"Enthusiastic about music, are you?" Mute asked a bit too comfortably for his own tastes.

"...It's what I do..." Koda replied, a small smirk forming on her face. In the distance, the loud sounds of a locomotive approaching could be heard, Mute looked in the direction of the sound to see the train approaching the station.

"...I hate trains..." Mute muttered.

"Hm? Why would you hate trains?" Koda asked curiously.

"...I'm more akin to trotting than letting a monstrosity of a machine that they call a "train" do the work for me..." Mute explained. Koda let out a small giggle at Mute's outburst, one that he couldn't keep from smirking slightly at. The train continued to speed closer to the station, until a loud screeching noise could be heard, followed by the train slowing to a halt outside of the station, provoking a dissatisfied sigh from Mute.

"...Can I... Sit next to you on the train...?" Koda asked with the same demeanor of a filly.

"...If you so desire..." Mute replied as he trotted towards the train, letting out another sigh as he set a hoof into it. Koda followed suit. Mute and Koda sat on two chairs opposite each other, the train slowly humming to life as Mute tried his best to get comfortable.

"...If you hate trains... Then why didn't you just go to Canterlot on hoof?" Koda asked.

"...Trains are faster... And I don't have a large chance of dying when I'm on one either..." Mute replied.

"Travelling... It must be a dangerous occupation..." Koda said.

"...You start to learn things after a while... How to survive... How to navigate... How to kill..." Mute said, trailing off at his last sentence, counting up all of the things he had learned while travelling mentally.

"...I could never deal with killing something..." Koda said, cringing slightly at the thought.

"It stops bothering you after a while... I remember my first kill... Shortly after I left my "home" town; A Timber Wolf... Things can give you a nasty bite..." Mute started. He looked over at Koda and noticed her eyes widening, he stopped himself while he had the chance.

"...Sorry. Musicians shouldn't hear these kind of things..." Mute apologized.

"O-Oh no! I wasn't disgusted... I was just surprised that you have trouble calling anywhere home..." Koda replied.

"Home don't exist as far as I know... Didn't know my mother or father... Probably best to keep it that way..." Mute said.

"I'm... I'm sorry for bringing that up..." Koda said.

"I didn't know them... Nothing to be sorry over..." Mute replied.

"Still... It must have been hard to never have a home..." Koda said. Mute let out a short chuckle before continuing.

"Maybe I will have one... After all of this ends... I might find somewhere to stay..." Mute pondered.

"...What about... Family...?" Koda asked.

"...What...?" Mute asked in return.

"...A family... Wouldn't you want one...?" Koda asked nervously.

"...A family... Me? Heh... I'm not cut out for any of that stuff..." Mute replied.

"I can see where you're coming from." Koda said with a giggle.

"...What about you? Surely you must have a dream of some kind..." Mute said.

"Well... Becoming famous would always be a good thing..." Koda answered nervously.

"Publicity... That ain't my thing... I would rather go out unknown rather than adored..." Mute replied.

"...Playing music is the only thing I'm really good at..." Koda said.

"We all have something that's "The only thing we're really good at" It's just how ponies work..." Mute remarked.

"But... Surely you have to be good at anything besides locating and travelling...?" Koda asked. Mute shook his head slightly.

"...You're not getting it... Just because I'm good at locating things doesn't mean that I use it for travelling alone... I can use my talent to locate where things are... Providing you give me something solid to work with... Or to find out where to hit something so it really gives a result..." Mute said, possibly speaking for the longest amount of time that he knew of.

"But... Music can't be used for anything other than... Making sounds... How does that contribute to something...?" Koda asked.

"That's not for me to decide... If I told you the answer to that, I might have well just chosen your cutie mark myself..." Mute replied. Just as he finished his sentence, the train let out the familiar noise of wheels screeching to a halt, Mute let out a sigh of relief when he heard the blissful sound.

"We're here..." Koda said. Mute smiled slightly.

"...Canterlot... This is where I finish things up..." Mute remarked as the train came to a complete halt. The duo exited the doors of the train before the barrage of ponies started scrambling for the doors. They stood in an overly-garnished train station, Koda let out gasps of awe while Mute merely grunted at the meaningless decorations plastered across the walls.

"It's... It's more than I expected..." Koda said, gulping out of pure nervousness.

"...Bleh... I hate the rich..." Mute remarked, receiving a few angry glances from some stallions and mares dressed in expensive suits, while Koda let out a short giggle.

"You don't like much, do you?" She asked.

"...I only like the things I care about... So... Nothing, really..." Mute responded. Koda chose to ignore the statement and continued gawking at the decorated train station.

"If this is a train station... I dread to think what the castle would look like..." Koda remarked. Celestia's sun was now setting slowly over the horizon, a bright fiery color decorating the skies.

"Well... This is where we part ways..." Mute said, almost disappointingly.

"...I...Yes...I suppose..." Koda replied.

"...Remember what I said, alright...? By the end of this, I'll either be leaving this place with bits jingling in my pocket... Or rats will be carving my insides into an amusing shape on the side of the gutters..." Mute said to himself gruesomely.

"Well... It was nice seeing you again, Mute... Maybe we could meet up at some point...?" Koda asked.

"Assuming I ain't dead by tomorrow morning... I'd be happy to..." Mute replied. Koda actually smiled at this, one that Mute weakly returned.

"Great!" Koda exclaimed as the duo left the train station. Koda outstretched her hoof towards a small establishment that closely resembled a cafe.

"How about we meet up over there tomorrow afternoon at about 1:00?" She asked.

"Yeah... Sounds great..." Mute said.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Mute." Koda said as she turned away.

"...No kiss this time around?" He asked jokingly, he heard the mare in front of him giggle as she turned her head towards him.

"Don't push your luck!" She exclaimed as she trotted away with a slight spring in her trot. Mute smirked and shrugged to himself as he started walking in the opposite direction. Celestia's sun was enveloped by the horizon in the next few moments, the smaller body of the moon was visible on the opposite end of the sky.

"I made it..." He said to himself as he reached into his saddlebag, pulling out the small folded map. He unfolded the map and placed it onto the ground, pulling out his ink and quill from the bag. He unscrewed the small lid on the bottle and dipped his quill into it quickly, a small drop of ink dropping onto the cobblestone flooring of Canterlot as he retracted it from the bottle. He then proceeded to draw a large cross over Canterlot, taking pride as he did so. He packed away his belongings as a small smirk remained plastered onto his face.

"I've been everywhere in Equestria... Well, apart from the Griffon Colonies... But they're Celestia-knows how far away from here..." He told himself. He picked himself back up from the ground and looked around the large city.

"Canterlot nightlife... Oh well... It doesn't seem like I'm going to be getting much sleep tonight, anyway..." He said to himself as he trotted in a random direction, taking note of where the cafe was as he trotted away.

"I broke your rule slightly, Cruise... But at least I made it in the end... All I need is one-hundred bits by the time I find you and then It'll all be clear skies... Hopefully..." He continued.

**DAMNIT. I did it again, didn't I? Oh well, it was fun while it lasted, I suppose. In other news, what. Whaaaaaaat. I just noticed Redemption has hit 10,000 views. Ho-ly crap. Where did those come from? It may not sound like much but this is the most attention I've had since... Well, ever. Why do people read these? Why am I asking myself these questions? I don't know...**

**Peace.**

**-Cupzy**


	10. The Nightlife

**WOW. Okay, this chapter is pretty damn late. But unfortunately, I have some bad news to announce. From this week 'till... Sometime... My exams have begun, whoopee. This means that chapters are probably going to be naturally late with all my revising n' shit. I'm not changing the deadline for my chapters, I'm just warning everybody that I'm probably not going to hit that deadline albeit a few rare days. Sorry for any (Procrastinated) Inconvenience this might cause. **

A few hoofsteps broke the silence of a small alleyway, if one listened closely enough, the small sounds of rats and other small rodents running across the floor was also audible. The small glimmer of moonlight that remained to light the way was blocked by the large walls that surrounded the alley, echoing the sounds of hooves clopping along the floor. A pony wearing a small, brown and tattered hood made it's way to the center of the alleyway. Stopping midway through his trot to feel the small saddlebag at his side, the reassuring sound of bits jingling around in the bag made the pony pull a small and mischievous smile. The pony's features were hidden behind the hood, and coupled with the near pitch blackness of the alleyway, the hooded pony's entire body was near invisible. But this particular pony was used to the darkness. The quiet and eerily foreboding atmosphere of the alleyways of Canterlot had become all too familiar. The hooded pony's smile was short-lived, however, as hoofsteps that were not of the hooded pony's own accord crept into the alleyway. The hooded pony peered behind itself to reveal a white stallion walking down the alleyway, his face showing a slight hint of disgust when he accidentally stepped his hoof into a small puddle of water. The hooded pony made an inaudible curse under it's pwn breath before turning back away from the stallion, peering towards the opposite end of the alleyway. The hooded pony eventually heard the hoofsteps stop when the stallion was directly next to it.

"...You alright...?" A voice ringed out from the darkness. The hooded pony let out a small sigh before turning towards the stallion. It was then that the saddlebag on his side became apparent to the hooded pony. A few minutes passed before the white stallion shrugged and started to trot off, his saddlebag making small jingling noises as he trotted away.

_The sound of money_

The hooded pony regrew his mischievous smile from a few moments ago.

"Why would an ordinary stallion trot through these alleyways at this time of the night?" The hooded pony asked. It became immediately apparent to the white stallion that the hooded pony was a mare, the distinct female tone of her voice completely giving it away.

"...Killing time..." The stallion responded.

"That's not a very good way to kill time... You know how dangerous Canterlot can get at this time of the night?" The mare asked.

"...So why's a mare like you doing trotting through these alleyways...?" The stallion asked suspiciously.

"Just... Doing business..." The mare replied, the smile still remaining on her face. The stallion let out an uninterested grunt before trotting away again. Once he got to the end of the alleyway, he heard hoofsteps rapidly approaching him. He turned around quickly, only to be tackled to the floor by the same mare he was talking to moments ago. She quickly picked herself back up and started to gallop through the empty streets of Canterlot. The stallion picked himself from the ground and brushed himself off.

"...Crazy mare... Why would somepony tackle somepony else in the middle... Of the... Night...?" The stallion said, slowing down his sentence to correspond with his eyes widening at the same time. He quickly ran a hoof across his saddlebag and shook it slightly.

_The jingle of his money was completely gone_

"...Buck..." He said to himself. He looked in the direction of where the mare had galloped off to, she was still visible in the distance. Her saddlebag considerably more heavy with the addition of more bits. The stallion immediately shot into a similar gallop, a furious expression embedded on his face. He wouldn't usually be worried about somepony pick pocketing him, but that was almost one-hundred bits he had on him. Even though it was completely against his nature, the stallion finally knew what shouting at something actually felt like.

"GET BACK HERE!" Mute shouted angrily, instantly placing a hoof over his mouth, as if to suck the statement back into his tongue before it could reach the mare. He lowered his hoof after a few seconds and continued pursuing the mare. He zigzagged through several streets while chasing the mare, completely quiet and devoid of any ponies or otherwise. The only sound that could be heard were two separate instances of galloping echoing through the streets, Mute could see a few ponies opening their front doors to find the source of the disturbance. The mare's mischievous smirk had transformed into a look of alarm, she wasn't expecting the stallion to chase her, let alone be this fast.

_"I won't let anypony touch that money... Not when I'm this close..." _Mute thought, his breath becoming heavier by the second. He wasn't the only one suffering from the effects of exhaustion, however, as the mare in front of him also seemed to be losing speed. It wasn't long before both of the two ponies were reduced to a slow jog of a gallop.

"Please... Just leave me alone..." The mare in front of him shouted in between long inhales and exhales of breath. Mute simply remained silent, he continued to gallop towards the mare until she took an unexpected turn into a nearby alley, her pants of breath being further echoed between the tight confines of the small alleyway. The mare shot a glance behind her to make sure the stallion wasn't chasing her. Her vision was impaired almost immediately by the sheer force of a solid object colliding with the side of her head. Her vision went dazed for a moment as she felt her body weight shift to the floor. She recollected herself a few seconds later, gazing with eyes half-lidded at the entrance to the alleyway. Much to her sorrow, the stallion had just appeared at the entrance to the alley, he panted heavily as he began to slowly trot towards her. She panicked for a moment, raising herself to her hooves quickly, causing her vision to blur again slightly, she let out a small grunt of pain while holding a hoof to the side of her head.

"...Money..." A voice said. The mare's vision straightened slightly, allowing her to see the image of the white stallion standing in front of her, his hoof outstretched. She tried to open her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She put another hoof to her mouth and cleared her throat slightly, a small splatter of blood decorated her hoof when it was retracted.

"...I..." She began. Her voice was dry and hoarse, and sounded more like a small squeak than proper speech.

"...Just give me the bits..." Mute said, still outstretching his hoof. He took the opportunity to examine the mare more carefully. Most of her facial features were hidden by the large, tattered hood over her forehead. Judging from the color of her legs, the mare had a light brown coat. No matter how hard he turned his head, the mare's cutie mark remained hidden from his view. The mare in question had a long scratch going down the left side of her head, blood flowing freely from the recently opened wound. Mute couldn't help but feel the slightest bit of sorrow for the mare.

"...I can't..." The mare choked out, her voice taking on a rather depressive tone, giving Mute the impression that she was currently shedding some tears under her hood. His suspicions were confirmed when a small tear left the shadowy confines of the hood, dropping off the mare's chin and echoing a small *drip* as it hit the floor.

"...Why...?" Mute asked.

"...I-I don't have much money... I'm just trying to survive..." The mare explained softly, her recent demeanor led Mute to believe that she had a cocky and overly comedic personality, but she seemed like a completely different mare from the pony who had just stole almost one-hundred bits straight from his saddlebag.

"...Tough... Just give me the money..." Mute said, giving his outstretched hoof a quick swish to emphasize his point. The mare looked up into Mute's eyes, a small portion of her face revealed. She looked barely any older than Mute, younger, if anything.

"...Can't I just take so-"

"No." Mute replied quickly. The mare sniffled slightly as she held her free hoof out to Mute, dropping the bits she had stolen into his hoof. Mute finally retracted his hoof and placed the bits into his saddlebag. He shot one more glance at the pickpocket, she had lowered herself to her haunches and was fiddling around with some spare bits she had on her, blood still dripped slowly from her wound, making her the epiphany of a lost cause. Mute turned around, blocking his sight from the poor mare. He was about to take a hoofstep forward when he let out a frustrated sigh. He turned back around and reached into his saddlebag, pulling out ten bits from the small carrier bag. The mare stopped sniffling for a moments to look up at Mute once more, she jumped back slightly when something hit the ground near her, she looked in the direction of the noise to see ten bits lying on the floor next to her. She looked at the money in a confused manner before shifting her gaze to Mute, raising an eyebrow at him.

"...What's this?" The mare asked.

"...Get some bandages, or medical help. I don't know... Just take the bucking bits before I change my mind..." Mute explained slowly. The mare gasped softly before returning her gaze to the bits, scrambling in the direction of the money after a few seconds. She grabbed the bits into her hoof and looked at the money like it was some kind of rare foreign object. Mute saw a smile of content appear under the hood and turned around, leaving the mare to her troubles. He took a few hoofsteps before hearing the mare speak again.

"...Why?" Was all she asked. Simple question, but the answer was a bit more complicated. Mute kept his head turned, yawning slightly as he took the mare's question into consideration.

"...I don't know..." Mute replied. He honestly didn't, normally he would have left somepony for dead in this situation. Being in Ponyville had definitely changed him. The mare picked herself up from the ground, still staring at the bits in amazement.

"T-Thank you... W-What's your name?" The mare asked

"...Ponies call me Mute..." He replied. The mare let out a small giggle at this.

"Mute...? Nice impersonation, but that isn't working on me." She replied.

"...Imper-... What...?" Mute asked confusedly.

"Have you been living under a rock these past few years?" The mare replied. Mute didn't know how to respond.

"...If you must know... Essentially... Yes..." He replied.

"Ah. That explains it... Where do I start... Ever heard of a pony called Cruise?" The mare asked. Mute's expression of confusion turned to one of even more confusion. Surely she couldn't be talking about...

"...Yes... I know a pony called Cruise..." Mute replied.

"Well, duh! Everpony in Equestria knows who Cruise is! He's a renowned traveler! He's traveled to almost everywhere in Equestria! But that's not the only reason ponies like him, he also says that he's in a race with somepony called "Mute" Nopony apart from him knows who Mute actually is! Rumor has it that he's arriving in Canterlot tomorrow! This'll be the last place he has to go to finish the race! Everypony's really excited for it! He's done so many great things, he drove a Manticore away from a town! He saved two young fillies trapped in a burning house!" The mare said excitedly. Mute, on the other hoof, was currently trying to process the information he had just been fed. He took things down bit by bit.

_"Alright... Cruise is still alive... Not necessarily a bad thing... Apparently he's become some kind of... Hero... In the past few years... He's been going around towns doing all these heroic deeds, and he's still trying to beat me in the race. Still trying... Arriving in Canterlot tomorrow...? T-That means..." _Mute pieced together in his mind. His eyes widened as the last sentence echoed through his ears as if it was a never-ending curse.

"Tomorrow... I-I... I've won..." Mute whispered to himself. Realization finally dawned on him as a disbelieving expression formed on his face.

"Uh... "Mute"?... Are you okay...?" The mare asked. It was too late for an answer, however. Mute had already galloped off, but not before throwing down another five bits at the mare's feet, another squeal of delight escaping her lips when she laid eyes on the money. She bent over happily to scoop the money up in her hooves.

"I wonder what he's so happy about..." The mare wondered to herself. Mute continued to gallop through the empty streets of Canterlot. Several street lamps illuminated a path for Mute to follow, he didn't know where he was going. He only knew that he was happy. Genuinely happy.

"I've won... I can't believe it... I beat Cruise..." Mute said to himself in between pants of breath. He slowed himself down, collapsing onto his haunches as he stopped running.

"It's finished... All those years... They finally amount to something..." Mute said to himself. Meanwhile, a small bed housed a sleeping form under the covers, the outline of a pony moving around every so often was visible underneath the covers. After a few minutes, the pony sat up in the bed. The curly mane that she possessed was slightly frazzled, and her expression proved to be furious. She jumped out of the bed and headed for the nearest window, looking out of it and scanning her eyes over the street outside of her hotel. She sighed as she pulled her head away from the window.

"...Just what was that racket all about...?" Koda asked herself.

**FINISHED. FINALLY. WOOHOO. PEACE.**

**-Cupzy**


	11. Surprise Visit

Mute's eyes shot open. He quickly pulled himself from the ground with the speed of Spitfire and looked around. He retaliated a few seconds later when his brain registered the painful sensation of itself hitting against Mute's skull, he put a hoof to his head and closed his eyes in pain for a few moments. He opened them again to realize that he wasn't on the streets of Canterlot anymore, rather, he was on a comfortable bed in a small room. He looked around slowly as he started to recall the events of last night. A small smile cracked across his face when he stumbled upon a particular memory.

"First good news I've heard in a long time..." Mute said to himself. He let out a large yawn as he started to make his way from the bed.

"...Where am I...?" He asked. Once he had gotten out of the bed, his eyes laid on a small cabinet near the side of the bed, a small piece of paper with some writing on it rested on the top. He trotted over to the paper and took it with his hoof, squinting his eyes to read.

_Mute_

_If you're awake, then I hope you had a good night's rest. I'm not exactly sure what happened, but I heard somepony screaming something odd last night and went outside to investigate. When I came out of the hotel, you were lying on the streets of Canterlot... Asleep... I'm not going to push details onto a tiny piece of paper, but I hope you remembered our arrangement yesterday. I assume you know where the cafe was? I'll see you there._

_-Koda_

Mute rested the paper back onto the small cabinet, facehoofing with his other free hoof.

"Sweet Celestia, I Must've looked pathetic..." Mute remarked to himself. He slid his hoof down his face and reached for his side, his eyes widened once he realized that his saddlebag wasn't there. He panicked slightly before eventually locating the bag in the corner of the room. He reattached the saddlebag to his side and started to head for the door.

"...I still won..." Mute said before trotting outside of the door, closing it behind him. He walked down the corridors of a hotel that looked far too expensive for anything that he could have possibly afforded in his entire life. He started to question how much money Koda actually made. He made his way to the stairs and proceeded down into the spacious lobby. He walked up to the double doors that were made to make the hotel look more elegant than it actually was and pushed one of the doors open. The bright light of Celestia's sun blinded him for the millionth time that week as he raised a hoof to his forehead. The loud noises of ponies conversing and trotting erupted through the doorway. Mute pulled his hoof away to reveal the now-bustling streets of Canterlot, completely flooded with ponies from every walk of life. Several Pegasi made their way through the streets via flying while the Unicorns and Earth Ponies slowly trotted through the busy streets. Mute started to wonder if the cafe would have any seats left at this rate. Judging from a guess, Mute assumed it was around 12:30 considering the placement of Celestia's sun coupled with the amount of ponies walking through the streets. Bright sunlight hit every surface that wasn't covered by a roof and the heat hit Mute almost instantly, several ponies were visibly panting as they made their way through Canterlot, while upper-crust mares and stallions tried their best to look unfazed by the scorching heat. Mute took a step outside as he looked around for the cafe that he saw the other day. Past the onslaught of ponies that clouded his vision, Mute could make out the shape of the cafe in the distance. He began to trot towards the cafe, bumping into more stallions and mares than he ever had in his entire life. He eventually managed to reach the small establishment. As expected, the area was rather full, and most of the seats were already taken up by other mares and stallions. He looked around for an empty table before a familiar voice spoke through the clutter of conversation coming from the other ponies.

"Mute! Over here!" A voice quietly ushered from the crowd. Mute turned around to see Koda sitting by herself on a table close to the back of the outdoor part of the cafe. Mute walked over to the table and took a seat opposite the smiling mare.

"I thought you wouldn't make it..." Koda said jokingly.

"...Neither did I..." Mute responded.

"...What happened last night...?" She asked curiously. Mute felt a familiar smile form across his face as he re-visited the memories of last night.

"...Remember when I said I was... 'Racing' somepony?" Mute asked. Koda shook her head almost immediately, eager to know what could possibly make a stallion like Mute happy.

"...Long story short... I won..." Mute said, his smile growing slightly larger.

"You... Won...? T-That's great news!... S-So... These past few years..." Koda said quietly.

"...Yeah... I was racing him..." Mute said before letting out a dry chuckle.

"...I thought he'd beat me for sure... Wanna know something funny?" Mute asked amusingly.

"...What...?" Koda asked, a small smile forming on her face.

"The pony I was racing... He's supposed to come here today..." Mute said.

"Well, what a coincidence. You'll be able to celebrate discreetly, considering that everypony seems to be expecting an important visit from Cruise..." Koda said. Her remark only served to amuse Mute further.

"...Cruise... I always thought he'd beat me... Funny, considering how publicized he was..." Mute said. Koda's ears perked up at this, a confused expression littered her features.

"...Whatever do you mean, Mute? Cruise is a hero... Him and a very good friend of his... Have been... Racing... For... The past... Few... Years..." Koda said slowly, her eyes slowly widening as she drew her sentence to a close.

"...That good friend..." Mute began, Koda lowered her head, using her hoof to tap repeatedly on her skull as if she was missing something.

"...His name was Mute... Ever heard of him...?" Mute asked sarcastically.

"...Mute... Surely you can't be..."

"...It'll be nice to see him again... So much time has passed..." Mute said to himself quietly.

"Y-You're racing against... Cruise...?" Koda asked slowly.

"...And I bucking won..." Mute finished. Koda was at a loss for words, she opened her mouth to speak, but closed it just as fast when no words came out.

"Mute...?" Koda asked slowly.

"...Hm...?" Mute replied.

"...Who ARE you...?" Koda asked. Mute didn't know how to answer.

"...I'm just an average stallion who got into a bet while I was young..." He eventually replied.

"B-But... Mute... Cruise had been all the rage these past few years! He's become a celebrity... So why aren't you...?" Koda asked. Mute chuckled again lightly as he reached into his saddlebag, pulling out an incredibly worn piece of paper and placed it onto the table.

"...You don't believe me...? Go on... Read it..." Mute ushered. Surprisingly, instead of using her horn, Koda actually pulled out a shaky hoof and picked up the folded sheet of paper. She unfolded it and looked over the contents with great interest. Not once had Mute ever shown that piece of paper to another pony, it had been rotting away in his saddlebag for a few years now. This was the first light it had ever seen since Mute first read it. The note that described his intentions.

_The note that started it all_

Koda folded the piece of paper and placed it back onto the table with a disbelieving look on her face, where Mute picked it back up and placed it back into his saddlebag.

"...Get in... Get out... And don't ask any questions while you're there... Seems like Cruise has forgotten that rule..." Mute said slowly.

"Y-You..." Koda started, but never finished. Suddenly, the loud sound of a bell could be heard in the background. Mute looked down the street to see a large bell tower with a Pegasus pulling the rope to activate the loud noise. The Pegasus was shouting something inaudible, but coupled with the distance that Mute sat from the bell tower, he was lucky to even see the Pegasi's lips move in the first place. The rambunctious conversations that filled the streets of Canterlot's streets were quickly reduced to small whispers in between a few select ponies.

"What's happening...?" Koda asked as she peered in the direction Mute was looking in.

"...Something important... Come on..." Mute said before gesturing for Koda to follow him, they both left their seats and started walking to the large crowd that had gathered in the streets. Faint whispers could be heard left, right and center but barely any of them were audible, with Mute only picking up vague comments of "He's here!" Or something along those lines. Without warning, everypony started to trot towards the train station that Mute had used to enter Canterlot last night. By this point, an absolutely massive amount of ponies were gathered around the train station. Mute and Koda kept close together, keeping a close eye on the train station. Mute eventually nudged the shoulder of a random stallion and began to speak.

"...What's happening?" Mute asked.

"Don't you know? I hear Cruise has just gotten off one of those trains!" The stallion responded. Mute's eyes widened immediately, he shot a glance back at Koda, who had the same expression on her face.

"...He's here..." Mute whispered to Koda.

"...What are you going to do...?" Koda asked.

"...Wait it out, for now..." Mute responded. Koda gave him a quick nod before returning her gaze to the train station. It was at this point that the crowd of ponies had began to move backwards from the train station. He could hear the excited whispers and small squeals from mares around him. To no avail, he attempted to push himself further into the crowd, but the massive amount of ponies was simply preposterous. The crowd eventually moved towards Mute's general location, it appeared they were forming a circle around something. Just before Mute could push himself to the inside of the circle, the crowd suddenly stopped moving, sending a stallion flying into Mute and nearly knocking him over. The whispers suddenly stopped for a moment, the streets becoming completely silent despite the incredibly large amount of ponies. The only sound that could be heard where the hooves of several more ponies joining the back of the crowd. It continued on like this for a few minutes before a voice finally spoke.

"A larger turnout than I was expecting..." A voice said from the crowd. Sure, it was deeper, slightly quieter and incredibly hard to understand, but it was unmistakably the voice that Mute recognized. Cruise's voice. Almost immediately, a loud cheer erupted from everypony in the crowd, Mute covered his ears to stop himself from going deaf at the incredibly large amount of noise. When the cheering eventually subsided, the speech continued.

"But... Here I am... After several long years... I've finally done it..." Cruise's voice said. The sound of paper unfolding could be heard before the sound of a quill scratching against paper continued. At this point, Mute had finally muscled himself to the front of the crowd, and what he saw threw him directly back to his childhood. He looked different, sure, but Mute last saw him as a colt. His coat was slightly darker than Mute had remembered it to be, his mane and tail looked completely different while still maintaining a bright crimson color. One of the more notable features, however, was that a mark was now imprinted onto his flank. What caught Mute off guard was that this cutie mark was almost identical to his own; A small map with a few dotted lines with a cross ending at the top-left side of the map, while Mute's cross ended at the bottom-right side of the map. Cruise wore a large smile as he examined the crowd around him.

"You know... I never thought I'd ever live to complete this race... Let alone win it... But I suppose fate works in mysterious ways..." He continued. Mute couldn't help but form a small smile. Cruise didn't know that he was in Canterlot. Another cheer erupted from the crowd, prompting Cruise to let out a small chuckle.

"Come on, now... Get back to your daily lives... Don't make such a fuss over me..." Cruise said calmly.

"Hey, no way! We've already got a party planned for you!" A random pony shouted from the crowd, prompting several nods from ponies in the crowd.

"...I suppose I can't decline an invitation, can I?" Cruise replied, the crowd exploded once more. Mute was starting to worry for his poor ears.

"...This makes me wonder where Mute actually is... I can only dread to think of the things that could have happened to him..." Cruise said quietly, bringing a hoof to his chin.

"...I've just been keeping to myself, Cruise..." A voice came from the crowd. Everypony along with Cruise raised an eyebrow and drew their attention to the pony who had just spoken up. Cruise's eyes eventually fell upon Mute, he let out a small laugh after setting eyes on the stallion.

"That's the spirit... Dream big, kid." Cruise said. It was Mute's turn to chuckle.

"...Don't remember me, Cruise...?" Mute asked with a smile on his face. Cruise's look of amusement turned into one of confusion as he continued to stare at Mute.

"...Stop joking around..." Cruise said quickly.

"...Don't believe me...?" Mute asked. He reached into his saddlebag and pulled out both his tattered letter and map and threw them onto the ground near Cruise's feet. He picked them up, a look of confusion still plastered across his face. He opened up the map first, closely eyeing the small black crosses along the drawing of Equestria, taking into account that the large cross on Canterlot had been recently added.

"Nice replica, kid... But I still don't believe you..." Cruise said amusingly, Mute only smiled and gestured to the small piece of paper on the floor. Cruise picked it up and unfolded the makeshift letter. After staring at the words for a few seconds, Mute noticed how his eyes were slowly widening as his pupils slowly ran down the paper.

"...My handwriting..." Cruise said slowly. He folded the piece of paper up and started to trot towards Mute. Once in range, he handed the paper and map back into Mute's hooves, placing them back into his saddlebag where they belonged.

"...Mute..." Cruise said quietly. Meanwhile, the crowd of ponies along with Koda stood there with unbelievably shocked expressions on their faces. Some ponies even resorted to hoofing themselves in the face to make sure this was reality.

"...It's been a while..." Mute replied.

"Yeah... It has..." Cruise replied.

**WOW. ON TIME. AND LONGER THAN AN ORDINARY CHAPTER. WHAT'CHU TALKING 'BOUT, CUPZY? I dunno :/ I just felt like writing a lot... So yeah... Cliffhanger... And stuff... Peace.**

**-...Cupzy, I suppose.**


	12. Rivalry Takes It's Toll

Everypony stood silent. A warm breeze brushed through the air as the sounds of a few birds chirping happily to themselves was audible. It was a rather amazing site, over five-hundred ponies stood completely immobile. A large circle was formed around two particular ponies. One of the ponies was named Cruise, he traveled the entirety of Equestria, helping everypony he came across. He made a name for himself, and he had become a hero among Equestria. The other pony was named Mute, he too had traveled the length of Equestria, except he didn't show a hint of remorse for anypony in trouble. He simply kept going, until he finally reached Canterlot. He went by a policy, a policy surprisingly given to him by the pony standing in front of him; Cruise.

_Get in, get out, and don't ask any questions while you're there_

A simple policy to live by, and it had gotten Mute through many troubles. But the point still stood, Cruise was the one who created this policy, but Mute was the only one who executed it. A rather odd circumstance. Both ponies scratched the back of their necks simultaniously, letting out a nervous chuckle as they did so. After a few painstakingly long minutes of waiting, Cruise eventually drew his attention away from Mute and towards whatever direction of the circle he was currently talking to.

"...Well... It appears that I was slightly mistaken..." Cruise began. He instantly heard ponies shouting from the crowd, shouting things like "He's not the real Mute!" Or "He must have cheated!" But Cruise knew better. He knew that this Mute was the Mute he had befriended as a child, and he knew that Mute hadn't cheated. His eyes said it all.

"...Unfortunately... My rival, Mute... Has beaten me to Canterlot... " Cruise continued. The uproar grew louder by the second, random ponies started shouting word after word of denial at both Cruise and Mute.

"It's good to see you again, Mute." Cruise said.

"Likewise." Mute replied. He shot a glance back at the crowd of ponies before noticing that Koda had made her way to the inner circle. Ponies had already started leaving the crowd in frustration, cursing Cruise inaudibly as they returned to their regular days. Once the crowd around Cruise and Mute had dispersed, Mute gestured for Koda to approach him.

"You... You're..." Koda stuttered.

"I was surprised too..." Mute replied.

"Who's this? Your marefriend or something?" Cruise asked from behind Mute. He lowered his head in quiet embarrassment, while Koda simply stood there and dragged her hoof across the ground with a small blush on her face.

"Just friends..." Mute replied.

"Hey, I don't blame you. She's good looking." Cruise remarked, nudging Mute slightly. Mute suddenly had the urge to hoof Cruise's words straight back into his mouth, but managed to restrain himself for the time being.

"Yeah, real funny, Cruise..." Mute replied. Cruise sighed slightly before growing a small smile on his face.

"So... You beat me..." He said calmly.

"Yep..." Mute replied.

"Well, I don't hold back on a promise, so here you go." Cruise said, handing a small bag of bits to Mute.

"Thanks..." Mute said.

"No problem, I've got more money that I know what to do with." Cruise replied.

"...Why did you publicize yourself?" Mute asked.

"Well... 'Publicize' is such a strong word... I don't know... I just liked helping other ponies..." Cruise answered.

"You're the one who told me that phrase... So why'd you neglect it yourself...?" Mute asked again.

"I forgot." Was the simple answer.

"You forgot... I wasted my entire social life on that phrase... And you can't even honor it yourself?" Mute asked.

"What are you trying to say, Mute?" Cruise asked cautiously.

"...I'm just saying it's no surprise that I won..." Mute said, fiddling with the bag of bits in his hooves.

"Coming from you... I've completely lost my reputation in the last few minutes..." Cruise said.

"The problem is that you had a reputation to begin with..." Mute began.

"I helped some ponies... What's wrong with that...?" Cruise asked.

"If I saw a starving pony on the street, I would leave them for dead... If I saw a pony alone in the woods with a saddlebag... I'd do everything in my power to get that saddlebag... It was a race of wits, Cruise, not who could become more popular..." Mute said slowly.

"I'm probably not the first pony to say that you're an idiot for committing those acts in the first place, am I?" Cruise asked amusingly.

"As a matter of fact... You're the first one to say that..." Mute replied.

"Surprising..." Cruise added.

"I never thought friends always contradicted each other..." Mute said.

"We're rivals, not friends..." Cruise answered quickly.

"Excuse me...?" Mute asked, pretty sure he had heard the wrong thing.

"You heard me... I'm pretty sure we agreed on that when we started travelling..." Cruise replied.

"I thought it was friendly competition... You know... What friends do..." Mute said, adding extra emphasis on the word 'friends'. Cruise let out a short chuckle.

"Ha! 'Friendly competition' my flank! It was to prove who was better..." Cruise argued.

"..." Mute didn't reply, he instead focused on how much Cruise had actually changed. How publicity had changed him.

"But, let's not argue, shall we? For I still have the 'special reward' that I mentioned..." Cruise began. Mute remembered how Cruise had mentioned some sort of mutual award that didn't account to who won or lost. Cruise trotted over to Mute and placed a hoof on his back and over the other side of his body, pulling him into a side hug.

"Mute, you and I, together. Are going to travel to the Griffon Colonies!" Cruise finished. The statement caught the attention of the few ponies that still stood around Mute and Cruise, and several of them started to usher the previous crowd back into their original places. Word spread in a few moments through the small street that Mute and Cruise stood in, and after a few minutes, a countless amount of ponies were once again surrounding them. Cruise bore a wide smile as he made the statement. Mute, however, was acting slightly differently to the situation. He had beaten Cruise to Canterlot, he had done what he wanted to do, and now he could probably move back into society, he could actually live a normal life for once. But then Cruise randomly made the choice to travel with Mute to the Griffon Colonies. With Cruise. Not the Cruise he used to know, but a Cruise who now had an over-inflated ego and an attitude to match. The ponies around them started whispering to each other, while Koda had fazed back into the crowd, a worried expression over her face. Cruise let out a small laugh when the group of ponies gathered around them.

"This is gonna be great, Mute! Just you and me! We'll finally be able to travel to the rest of Equestria and complete out maps!" Cruise encouraged, patting Mute on the shoulder.

"No." Mute replied.

"Hm? What did you say Mute?" Cruise asked.

"I said no. I'm not doing this..." Mute answered. Cruise, Koda and the rest of the ponies around them went completely silent seconds after Mute made his decision. The hot breezes of air that transpired a few moments ago had been reduced to small, cold gusts of wind that sent an eerie atmosphere down the street, almost as if Celestia herself was controlling the weather to show the atmosphere of the situation.

"Alright, alright Mute. Stop joking about. Now, how are we going to prep-" Cruise was cut off by Mute pushing him away slightly.

"No means no, Cruise. The race is finished... It's over..." Mute said.

"But it isn't going to be a race! It'll be a friendly trip between you and me!" Cruise replied.

"I've been almost everywhere in Equestria... How many years had it been? Three? Four? I've lost count... It's been a long time, Cruise. We're not foals anymore... We're different ponies now... With different views... And travelling..." Mute paused slightly, reaching for his saddlebag and removing it from his side, hoofing it to Cruise.

"...I'm done with it..." Mute finished. Cruise stared down at the saddlebag he held in his hooves, his look of happiness and excitement turning to one of annoyance.

"You're joking..." Cruise concluded. Mute merely shook his head.

"You have no clue how hard I've worked to get this far..." Cruise said.

"And I couldn't care less..." Mute replied quickly.

"...You've changed, Mute..." Cruise said.

"It wasn't about the money... It wasn't about the fame... Hay, according to you it wasn't even about the friendship... Just rivalry... I've changed for the better Cruise... All the fame has gone to your head..." Mute said slowly.

"Then what will you do?" Cruise asked.

"I'll live normally... Unlike you..." Mute replied. He turned around and took a few hoofsteps away from Cruise.

"Go on... Just head to the Griffon Colonies yourself... Maybe a walk through the forest will clear your twisted mi-" Mute cut off his sentence early as he felt a sharp pain at his side. He gripped his side and turned around to see Cruise staring him in the eyes, hovering over him like some kind of foreboding rain cloud.

"Buck you, Mute. I don't even know why I made that promise with you in the first place..." Cruise said.

"I'm not one for fights, Cruise. Why can't we just walk away from this?" Mute asked.

"I suppose you won, so I now have a bone to pick with you..." Cruise replied. Mute's eyes widened as another blow from Cruise hit him on the snout, he reared his head up in pain before taking a few more hoofsteps away from Cruise. He heard several gasps from the crowd that had gathered around them.

"Something's stopping you, isn't it?" Cruise asked.

"What?" Mute asked, a trickle of blood escaping his snout.

"Something's stopping you from accepting my offer... What is it?" Cruise repeated.

"Nothing..." Mute answered.

"Don't lie to me... What is it? Do you have money? Reputation?" Cruise persisted. He looked around before resting his eyes on Koda, who still stood inside of the circle, her eyes widening in fear when Cruise looked at her. He let out a small chuckle before convulsing into laughter, collecting himself after a few moments. He pointed a hoof directly at Koda, smiling happily at Mute.

"It's her... Isn't it...?" Cruise asked with a smile on his face. Mute remained silent, instead spitting at Cruise's hooves. He received another punch from his former friend a few seconds later.

"Answer me." He demanded.

"...No..." Mute responded.

"Don't lie to me, I can tell when you're lying..." Cruise replied quickly.

"Mute..." He heard Koda say in the distance.

"Leave her out of this..." Mute said.

"You're pathetic..." Cruise replied. Mute didn't have time to answer before Cruise took a few hoofsteps away from him. After a few seconds of silence, Cruise galloped forward and threw his hoof directly at Mute, catching the side of his face and pushing him back. Mute saw small blood drops fly off from his snout as he was knocked away by the punch. He landed on the ground, his side being scratched in several places as he slid along the cracked cobblestone ground. A loud ringing erupted in his ears when he tried to move his head, his entire body felt numb and unresponsive. He realized his eyes were now half-lidded and were slowly closing by the second, he fought to keep himself from unconsciousness to no avail. The last thing he heard was a mare's voice shouting his name as he slowly closed his eyes. And then, darkness...

**NO! I couldn't get the chapter uploaded on time. Sugar. Anyway, good news! Half-term has started so I've got a week off which means NO MORE DELAYS YAAAAY! **


	13. Friendship Is Forgotten

**Whoops... Looks like I can't even do this right. Sorry about the late chapter, I... Uh... I just... Had... Hair cancer... Or something...**

Cruise smirked slightly to himself as he saw Mute's body fall to the ground, the impact making a resounding *THUD* that brought music to Cruise's ears. He turned his head slowly, eyeing the large crowd of ponies that gathered around the two stallions. Some had looks of shock sculpted onto their faces, others simply shared Cruise's smirk and shook hooves angrily at the unconscious body of Mute.

"So, everypony..." Cruise started. The trace amounts of muttering that Cruise could hear slowly died down as every eye turned to his attention.

"Mute wasn't as... Cooperative... As I thought he would be... Why don't we say that none of this ever happened? Let's just imagine that Mute hadn't arrived in Canterlot in the first place, and he was... Removed from play by a Timberwolf. We can just put all of this behind us and celebrate MY victory in the race." Cruise continued. Some ponies immediately nodded their heads, agreeing that Mute was simply destined to lose in the first place. Other ponies shook their heads, with some ponies even shouting out things like "You betrayed him!" Or "You cheater!" Cruise ignored the statements and focused on the ponies who were agreeing with him, which appeared to be the vast majority. Cruise's eyes skimmed over the crowd, before his eyes fell on one particular pony; A mare, to be more exact. She had no reaction, but instead, she simply stared at Mute's body, a look of sadness enveloping her features. Cruise recognized the pony as the mare that Mute was with when they met up.

"Hey! You over there!" Cruise shouted to the mare. The crowd fell silent once more, clinging onto Cruise's every word. The purple mare lifted her head slightly, taken her eyes off Mute for a split second to stare at Cruise for a few seconds. Her face settled on a look of disgust before returning her gaze back to Mute.

"Hey! Come over here!" Cruise shouted, beckoning the mare closer with his hoof. The mare stood strong, her hooves planted firmly on the ground. Two ponies behind the mare nodded to each other and moved forward simultaneously, pushing the mare forward, nearly causing her to fall over before she steadied herself. She looked up to see Cruise smirking at her.

"You're that mare that was with Mute, right?" Cruise asked. The mare said nothing, her eyes being drawn to the ground beneath her.

"You're the reason why Mute didn't want to leave, huh? What were you doing before I came here? Were you on a date or something?" Cruise asked with a mocking chuckle. The mare continued to stare at the ground, attempting to hide the redness forming on her face.

_"Oh Celestia, why me? __Why is he doing this...?" _Koda thought to herself as she kept her head down.

"What's wrong? Griffon got your tongue? Come on, answer me." Cruise pursued.

_"Why isn't anypony stopping this?" _Koda questioned herself.

Meanwhile, on the ground, the mass of a pony that lay there shuffled slightly. The crowd were too focused on Cruise's barrage of questions towards Koda that no attention was payed to the fallen pony. Pain. That was the first thing that registered in Mute's body. He felt a strong pain come from his head, while some of his body ached from forming bruises. A stinging sensation left Mute's side; Several scratches littered the side of his body that he had landed on. He attempted to move a foreleg slightly. Surprisingly, the pain that followed was only small. He slowly lifted one eyelid, but quickly closed it again after seeing the bright light of the sun shining down onto the streets of Canterlot.

Mute chuckled a little inside. He was never unconscious, he just wanted to get the argument over with. Cruise was strong, no doubt. And the punches from him still ached through Mute's body, but it was hardly enough to render him unconscious. He lifted his ears slightly, trying to make out the faint mumbling of Cruise's voice he could hear.

"You're that mare that was with Mute, right?" He heard Cruise say. Mute was confused at what he heard. Was he with a mare?

_"Hm... Mare... Oh! He must mean Koda... Wait... Koda!?" _Mute thought to himself as realization dawned on him. He continued listening to the conversation, praying to Celestia that he wasn't actually talking to Koda.

"You're the reason why Mute didn't want to leave, huh? What were you doing before I came here? Were you on a date or something?" He heard Cruise say.

_"Huh... Never thought of that... I might check that... Assuming I get out of this..." _Mute thought. He lifted his eyelids once more, blinking several times to let his eyesight adjust to the new brightness. After about two seconds, Mute's eyesight adjusted, allowing him to see the large group of ponies... Along with the two ponies in the middle.

"What's wrong? Griffon got your tongue? Come on, answer me." Cruise said. Koda eyed the ground nervously, dragging her hoof across the floor. Cruise was clearly getting impatient. he sighed deeply.

"...Honestly, I've never met anyone quieter than Mute... You would've been perfect for him, you know." Cruise remarked. Koda simply kept her head down, hoping vaguely that she would somehow just get teleported away.

"...Why...?" Koda muttered. Cruise donned a smile, amused by Koda's question.

"Why? Are you deaf? Didn't you hear what he was saying? He was going on and on about friendship and publicity... He was really starting to bore me. I mean honestly, who would want to be friends with an idiot like him?" Cruise remarked, pointing at Mute.

"B-But he beat you fair and square! He's been working so long for this... And you just threw is a way in a matter of minutes... He spoke so highly of you... As a friend, not an opponent..." Koda replied.

"There's no 'Friends' in 'Race.' He cheated, of course. I know he did. It's only fair that I won." Cruise replied.

"That's no reason for you to hit him to the ground. What's to say that you didn't cheat either? What would have happened if-" Koda said before she was cut off. A hoof had just collided with the side of her head. Cruise's hoof. She let out a sharp gasp of surprise, one that quickly turned into one of pain. Koda was knocked back, her body turned away from Cruise. She lifted a hoof slowly, using it to brush across her face softly, while her features projected an image of pure shock.

"I told you... I won... Argument finished." Cruise said harshly. Mute's eyes widened, he blinked a few times to make sure he wasn't actually dreaming. In a fit of small willpower, Mute quickly supported himself with his forelegs, immediately eliciting some gasps from the crowd a few seconds later. After a few seconds, Mute pushed himself to four legs, allowing himself to examine most of his injuries while mumbles erupted from the crowd. The scratches to his side were hardly as bad as they felt, they were bleeding lightly, but it was only visible due to the whiteness of Mute's coat and would be hard to see on any other pony.

"Up, are you? Thought you were out." A voice said amongst the crowd. Mute pulled his head away from his injuries and looked at the pony in front of him. Cruise stood there with an amused smile on his face.

"Didn't your mother tell you to never hit a mare? Oh... Wait a minute..." Mute replied. Cruise growled slightly.

"You wouldn't joke about that... You're better than that, Mute." Cruise replied.

"And while I'm on the subject. A Timberwolf... Really? If you're going to fake my death then at least make it sound more interesting." Mute continued.

"So... Tell me... Why'd you get back up?" Cruise asked.

"...You hit somepony that I like..." Mute replied.

"Oh, her? Well, I'm wondering about what your definition of 'like' is..." Cruise said.

"That's none of your business..." Mute replied.

"Of course not. But what IS my business is why you refuse to come with me to the Griffon colonies." Cruise said. Mute thought for a moment, trying to come up with an answer that best described his situation.

"Sometimes travelling becomes hard when you've got friends..." Mute replied. Cruise stifled a laugh, putting his hoof to his mouth as the muffled sounds of chuckling managed to escape. He calmed down after a few seconds, looking at Mute with a smile.

"Sorry, Mute, but you and friends just don't mix well." Cruise said.

"Well, that was the best answer I could come up with..." Mute replied. He shot a glance at Koda, who was still brushing her cheek with a pained expression on her face.

"You gonna apologize to her?" Mute asked.

"Apologize to the pony who stole my best friend? I don't think so." Cruise replied.

"...Oh... I'm your friend now, am I?" Mute asked. Cruise remained silent. Realization dawning as he realized what he had just said.

"Look, Mute. I-"

"Don't say anything... I think I'm done here." Mute replied. He turned around, gesturing for Koda to follow him as he started to trot away. Just as Mute turned his back, however, Cruise took the initiative and started to gallop towards Mute.

"What th-" Mute said, turning around before he was tackled to the floor by Cruise. The pony in question raised his hoof in the air, intending to bring it down straight upon Mute's head. After about a second, Cruise brought his hoof down, anger overcoming him. His hoof was about to make collision with Mute's head before his hoof suddenly stopped in mid-air, an aura surrounding his hoof and preventing his foreleg from moving.

"Huh? What's your problem? You don't have any right to come... Between... Us..." Cruise said as he turned his head around. Mute looked up to see Cruise looking directly behind him, a mix of both surprise and horror was scattered across his face. After a few seconds, Cruise leaped off Mute, immediately running towards whatever he had just seen. Mute laughed a little inside at Cruise's reaction to the interference. Mute pulled himself up into a sitting position before looking at the source of Cruise's sudden despair. Needless to say, what Mute saw nearly made his eyes pop out of their sockets. Standing among the crowd, with a large array of ponies gasping and uttering inaudible whispers, in the flesh, was the Princess of Equestria; Princess Celestia. Both Cruise and Mute looked positively terrified. Out of pure instinct, Mute immediately rested his head back onto the ground, praying that the Princess had never seen him in the first place.

"Y-Your Majesty! To what do we owe the pleasure to?" Mute heard Cruise say.

"I simply wanted to welcome the heroic Cruise to Canterlot after his race. This... Was certainly not what I was expecting..." The motherly voice rang. Somehow, Mute could feel Celestia's gaze fall onto him.

"Please rise... Mute... I do believe that you also played an important role in this ordeal." The Princess said. Without hesitation, Mute instantly rose to four legs, standing formally at the sight of the Princess. He remained silent, talking to royalty wasn't exactly one of his best abilities.

"Now... What exactly happened here?" The Princess asked, fearing that she had already seen enough to assume.

"Y-Your majesty... Exactly how long were you standing there...?" Cruise asked cautiously.

"Ever since you hit that mare... I'm honestly surprised that nopony saw me..." The Princess replied. Cruise would have simply fainted on the spot, but being in the presence of royalty quickly changed his mind.

"I would like you two to accompany me back to the castle... I believe that this needs to be discussed... The mare named 'Koda' may also accompany us, if she so desires." The Princess said. She turned her gaze to Koda, who nodded slowly in return. Both Mute and Cruise were currently preparing themselves for permanent banishment to the moon as the Princess turned around and motioned for the trio to follow her. Mute walked over to Cruise and put his mouth up to Cruise's ear.

"Thanks, Friend."

**Well, that was the first chapter in like *Puts up fingers* one, two, three... Almost four weeks! I'm REALLY sorry about not uploading any chapters, but my laptop really didn't want me having any fun anytime soon. Peace.**

**-Cupzy**


	14. In A Place You Don't Belong

The day had begun its trek to the horizon not a few minutes ago, magnificent rays of golden sunlight pierced through every alleyway and shone through the streets. Any decent pony would have taken time out of their day to sit down and enjoy the sunset, it certainly was one of the most beautiful things that Equestria could offer. Mute wasn't a decent pony, however. Far from it, in fact. He never bothered himself with trivialities like enjoying the sunset. He never really saw the point in it. This was one of the rare moments where he actually attempted to enjoy the atmosphere around him. It was calming, and helped the mind focus. But instead of using the environment to give his eyes a well-deserved bath, Mute was currently trying to take his mind off the situation he was currently in. Two ponies trotted by his side, one staying further away than the other. One of these ponies was Cruise; Mute's long time 'friend' and rival during the years in which they were racing. The other pony standing next to him was a mare, a mare by the name of Koda. Mute had only had a few long conversation with Koda, and barely knew anything about her, but somehow, she had gotten tangled up in the mess that Mute had gotten himself into.

_"Well, at least she's cute- Whoa, where'd that come from? Shut up brain." _Mute thought, mentally scolding himself. All three ponies remained silent for the entire time their legs carried them. It was partly to do with Mute's nature; Quiet. But it largely revolved around the fact that a very important figure was standing right in front of them: Princess Celestia. The Princess of Equestria herself had personally taken to resolving the matter of Mute and Cruise herself, and took it upon herself to escort Mute and Cruise towards the castle of Canterlot. Koda had a choice whether or not she wanted to come, but Mute assumed that she came simply because you don't exactly say 'no' to a Princess every day of your life. Mute expected Celestia to be covered left right and center by a battalion of guards ready to puncture one-hundred holes in the first pony that gave the Princess a funny look. Surprisingly, there weren't any. As much as Mute wanted to believe this was a dream, the small stinging pain in his side proved otherwise, keeping his spirits down.

_"I'm going to die, aren't I? That, or I'm going to be spending the rest of my life on a giant rock in the sky with somepony I despise and loathe... Sounds like fun..." _Mute joked to himself, trying to stop his conscious from ordering him to face-plant and hit his head on the floor until he stopped breathing. He noticed Cruise constantly throwing an angry look at him, quickly pulling back into a neutral expression when the Princess looked over her shoulder to make sure Cruise and Mute weren't killing each other. Koda didn't seem very frightened, probably due to the fact that she wasn't in any trouble whatsoever. She looked more interested than anything else. Given, considering not everypony gets to set hoof inside the castle of Canterlot without some sort of special invitation.

"Are you all okay, my little ponies? You all seem awfully flustered." The Princess said, keeping her head forward. Mute had never talked to royalty before, and he got the feeling that not responding would likely lower his life expectancy by about twenty years.

"...We're... Not very talkative ponies... Your Majesty..." Mute responded slowly. He felt like he had just given the worst response possible, but at least he had an opportunity to moisten his dry mouth. Mute swore that he heard the faintest chuckle come from The Princess.

"Now, now, my dear Mute. My job is to keep my subjects happy, and I would not be fulfilling that role if I was making you all nervous, now would I?" The Princess asked in her motherly voice. Mute was surprised that The Princess didn't exactly act very regal when she talked to him. She sounded like she was having a casual conversation with somepony of her own level of importance. Then again, she did have one-thousand years to perfect her ruling methods.

"I... I suppose not... Your Majesty..." Mute said slowly. Even with The Princesses's claims, he still felt incredibly nervous. If The Princess had been listening in since Koda was hit by Cruise, then she shouldn't have seen anything that Mute had done wrong. Suddenly, The Princess stopped in her tracks, prompting the others to quickly grind to a halt before they trotted straight into her. Mute looked up and gulped slightly at what he saw. A large, majestic castle loomed over an incredibly dangerous-looking cliff side. The castle itself was the definition of royalty, the colors of the castle walls made the area look fit for any kind of king or queen, or Princess, in this case. Mute felt that all the castle needed was a large sign saying 'Poor ponies stay away' and the area would be perfect. The Princess stood looking at the castle for a few seconds before turning towards the trio of ponies who still marveled at the masterpiece of architecture.

"If you would all be so kind as to follow me, the hallways in this castle appear to get more complicated by the day." The Princess remarked, letting out a inaudible chuckle. The three ponies nodded before The Princess walked up to the large iron gate that marked the entrance to the castle, several guards with menacing-looking spears bowed slightly as The Princess approached, one of them signalling to open the gate. After a few seconds, the light creaking noise of the gates filled the ears of everypony in the general vicinity. The Princess gestured for the trio to follow her before entering the castle. Mute began to trot forward before realizing that Koda was lagging behind slightly, she was still eyeing the walls of the castle with a look of both bliss and awe across her face. Mute checked to see if Cruise and The Princess weren't too far ahead before trotting back to Koda, who still kept her head up.

"Koda, it'd probably be best if we followed The Princess." Mute said quietly. Koda shook her head slightly before bringing it down, a smile still on her face.

"I'm sorry Mute. It's just... I can't believe that we're actually going into the castle of Canterlot." Koda said with as much glee as she dared to muster.

"Yeah... I suppose not many ponies get to see the inside of the castle... I guess this should technically be an honor or something... Why are you so interested in the castle? I thought you were a musician, not an architect." Mute asked.

"Ever since I was a filly I'd always dream of playing in this castle for the Princesses... I suppose it's what made me become a musician in the first place..." Koda explained.

"Hey, if I don't get sent to the moon, then I'll put in a good word for you." Mute joked. Koda took on a solemn look before staring at Mute sadly.

"I'm... I'm really sorry for what happened back there..." Koda apologized.

"If it's anypony who should be apologizing, then it's me. I wasn't the only one who got hurt..." Mute said, pointing his hoof at Koda's cheek, which had just developed a small bruise. Koda brushed a hoof across her cheek, wincing in pain slightly when she applied pressure to it.

"...I can't believe he would do something like that..." Koda said.

"Yeah... Looks like I wasn't the only pretty face that got messed up..." Mute replied. Koda blushed slightly before returning to her previous smile.

"Hey! Lovebirds! Let's not keep The Princess waiting!" A voice shouted from the castle. Mute sighed heavily before trotting into the castle, with Koda following at his side.

The Princess was certainly correct, the hallways in the castle were the most confusing thing that Mute had ever seen. He could have swore that even The Princess raised a hoof to her chin in thought at one point. Every hallway looked similar, with rooms dotted on each side of every one.

_"This place is bigger on the inside that it looks on the outside..." _Mute thought to himself. After a few more minutes of trotting, Cruise started to move closer to Mute, and eventually daring to speak after a few moments.

"Hey... Mute..." He whispered.

"...I've got nothing to say to you..." Mute replied slowly.

"Hey, you're the one who started the argument." Cruise replied.

"And then you had to knock me to the floor. And while I'm on the subject, why did you have to bring Koda into this?" Mute asked.

"...I thought she was the reason you wanted to leave..." Cruise replied.

"And look what that led to... I wouldn't have gone with you anyway..." Mute said.

"...Wait, so she WAS the reason you didn't-"

"Cruise... What I do in my life is none of your business..." Mute said, cutting Cruise off. They both went silent for a moment.

"...You should get your name changed..." Cruise joked.

"I don't think the monarchy of the moon allows name-changes." Mute replied.

"Very funny..." Cruise said. The Princess suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. The trio following her raised her heads, their mouths falling an equal length. An absolutely enormous door stood before them, it had to be at least 20 times the size of The Princess herself. A platoon of guards stood stationed by the bottom of the door, standing to attention when The Princess came along. She gave a quick nod to the guards before the entire platoon turned around and stared directly at the door. In a few seconds, the guards had their hooves on the door, waiting for a few moments before pushing with all of their strength. The strain on their faces could clearly be seen, and it took a few seconds before an extremely loud *CREAK* could be heard. The middle of the door opened a crack before slowly opening. The entire ordeal took about two minutes in total. Koda, Mute and Cruise all stood with jaws-dropped as the guards opened the door. The Princess couldn't help but smirk slightly when she saw the reactions of the three ponies. When the doors fully opened, the guards returned to their original posts, the look of exhaustion could still be seen on their faces. The Princess started to trot into the large hallway that had just been revealed. The trio shook their heads simultaneously, still trying to recover from what they just saw. The ponies were equally as stunned when they saw what had just been revealed; A large hallway with a long red carpet going through the middle, the walls were decorated with stained-glass windows with several images of ponies on them. At the end of the hallways resided two regal-looking thrones.

"...Amazing..." Koda muttered under her breath as she admired the throne room.

"...Well... At least I'm getting banished with class..." Mute said. The trio continued to follow the Princess through the throne room until they finally reached the two thrones at the end. The Princess continued trotting towards the thrones while the trio dared not to venture any further. Standing directly in front of the thrones was an intimidating experience, and Mute wondered why The Princess would choose such a manner of addressing her subjects. The Princess continued trotting until she finally reached her designated throne; A golden seat with several abstract patterns engraved on the sides. The other throne remained empty, and took on a much 'darker' appearance. The Princess sat on the throne, eyeing the trio before clearing her throat slightly.

"Now... Would anypony care to explain to me what exactly happened today?" She asked politely.

_"...Maybe I should've written my will beforehand..." _Mute thought as he gulped slightly.

**WOO! On time! Unfortunately, nothing really important happened this chapter... Oh well, guess I'll make up for it next time. Peace.**

**-Cupzy**


	15. An Explanation

Normally, anypony who was important enough to trot through the royal halls of Canterlot Castle would generally be honored, excited, proud, incredibly rich, or just lucky. If you were to ask Mute, however, he would tell you that being in front of Princess Celestia herself was quite an intimidating experience. Despite the comforting personality of The Princess, Mute somehow felt that he was going to get his tail blasted off by a bolt of magic any second. Nerves tend to do that to you. It wasn't just a hunch, either. Mute had just gathered the attention of Canterlot by winning against a so-called 'hero' in a race. Some hooves were involved, and now he was having an audience with The Princess alongside his recently acquired mortal enemy and... Well... Koda. And now The Princess had asked him kindly to 'explain' the situation to her.

_"This day just keeps getting better..." _Mute thought, fake enthusiasm outlining his entire brain. Mute let out a small cough, but feared that it only made the atmosphere even more tense.

"Your Majesty..." Cruise began.

"Please, Cruise. Do feel free to call me Celestia." The Princess responded kindly.

"...Princess..." Cruise started again, not sure if The Princess was joking or not.

"...I... I expected than you had already seen enough..." He continued.

"Yes... I saw the incident with... Koda, was it?" The Princess asked, her gaze falling on Koda. She instantly broke out of her 'I'm way too busy admiring everything about this absolutely amazing castle ohmygoodness why can't I live here?' trance and stood to attention at The Princess.

"Y-Yes... Your Majesty..." Koda replied quietly.

"Well, when I arrived, Mute had already been knocked to the ground... Would you please fill in the gaps, Koda?" The Princess asked.

"O-Of course... Me and Mute were sitting at a nearby cafe when Cruise arrived into Canterlot. I-It took some persuasion before Cruise finally believe that Mute was the real deal... Then Cruise invited Mute to travel with him to the Griffon Colonies... Mute seemed to take that badly... He started to tell Cruise that there was no point in him coming, and that his publicity had ruined who Cruise used to be... The argument continued on until Cruise started to get violent, he punched Mute a few times before knocking him to the ground... Everypony thought that he was unconscious. Then Cruise turned to me and... You know the rest..." Koda explained. To his own glee, Mute heard the barely audible gulp from Cruise once Koda had finished.

"I see... But how did Cruise become so violent in the first place?" The Princess asked.

"It was because of her, your majesty." Cruise objected, pointing a hoof in Koda's direction. The Princess gave a confused look, not sure what to make of the situation.

"Ah... I never assumed that Mute and Koda were... Romantically involved..." The Princess said. Cruise couldn't help but snicker when he saw Mute's face turn bright red.

"N-No, your majesty... It's nothing like that..." Mute said quickly.

"Oh, my apologies, young Mute. A shame, you two look perfect for each other." The Princess teased, letting out a short giggle.

"Y-Your majesty!" Mute protested. Somehow, Koda couldn't help but feel a slight hint of sadness at Mute's reaction.

"My apologies. I understand that my statement was rather unorthodox." The Princess said. She turned her gaze to Cruise, who instantly turned chalk-white at Celestia's stare.

"Cruise... You must know that this crime cannot go unpunished..." The Princess said. Cruise sighed, rubbing the back of his head with his hoof.

"But... The uproar caused by your imprisonment or otherwise would be substantially large to cause various instances of disharmony to erupt throughout Canterlot and possibly Equestria..." The Princess continued. Mute's smile instantly faded, he took a few seconds to take in what The Princess had just said.

_"Cruise is getting excused... Because he's popular..." _Mute thought.

"Your Majesty..." Mute said slowly. Before she spoke another sentence, The Princess turned her gaze back to Mute.

"Yes, young Mute?" The Princess asked.

"...That's not exactly fair." Mute deadpanned.

"Whatever do you mean, Mute?" The Princess asked.

"If I was in Cruise's place, then I'd probably be imprisoned, banished or something along those lines... But you're letting him off simply because he's popular with Equestria?" Mute asked. The room fell silent, with not a gust of wind or the chirp of a bird to break the silence. Mute had just spoken up to one of the most powerful beings in Equestria, and his standing in the first place wasn't exactly perfect, to say the least.

_"I'm dead I'm dead I'm dead." _Summed up Mute's thought process in a few seconds.

"Mute! You're talking to a Princess!" Koda whispered quietly.

"Yup... I sure am..." Mute whispered back. Just then, the stained-glass windows ceased to project light into the throne room, the last rays of Celestia's sun lowering over the horizon as a thin projection of darkness fell upon the room.

"As much as I would like this matter dealt with, I cannot allow my subjects to lose sleep due to a small outbreak." The Princess said. If he had dared to open his mouth once more, Mute would have let out the longest sigh of relief in Equestria. Princess Luna couldn't have timed it better.

"If you desire, I can make accommodations available for you in the castle." The Princess offered. Koda nearly jumped with glee, a night spent in the castle to her was almost like getting a private ticket to the grand galloping gala delivered personally by Celestia herself... On a unicycle. Cruise and Mute were happy simply because they could wake up to Equestria the next day. The Princess arose from her throne, trotting down the small and overly-regal staircase to the three ponies below.

"If you would, please follow me to one of the rooms used for important visitors to the castle." The Princess said. That time, Mute heard the squeal from Koda. Thankfully, the enormous door at the beginning of the throne room was kept open, with the guards shutting it in an incredible show of sheer strength when The Princess and the three ponies that followed trotted out. The confusing hallways of the castle once again presented themselves to the ponies. The sheer number of doors made Mute question the count of how many ponies were actually assigned as guards in the castle. The trio continued to follow The Princess until the hallways changed design at one point. The walls had become laced with portraits and paintings, and the hallway itself looked to be in better condition. The doors on each side of the hallway were less in numbers, but appeared more important-looking, almost as if this area of the castle was restricted to incredibly rich and important ponies who wanted to waste their incredibly large amounts of bits on incredibly expensive and luxurious rooms.

"Most of these rooms are already being used by ambassadors or rulers from foreign lands. But I do recall at least one of these rooms being unused." The Princess explained.

"Ah, yes. I believe that it was this one." The Princess concluded, stopping outside one of the doors. She used her magic to open the door, which, surprisingly, didn't actually make a sound. If the trio of ponies weren't in the audience of The Princess, they would have all likely fainted on the spot. The room they laid eyes on was past the limits of regal. Almost completely a gold color, the room had a lush red carpet strewn on the entire floor, a fireplace sat at the far end of the room, with several chairs and a couch facing towards it, an enormous double bed lay across from the fireplace, almost enough to carry a creature twice the size of The Princess. A bookcase holding limitless amounts of information stood near the bed, with a few highly-expensive looking cabinets strewn about the room for good measure. Mute and Cruise simply stood with their mouths hanging open while Koda nearly tripped over her own hooves after a second of analyzing the room.

"I assume the room is to your liking?" The Princess asked, amused by the trio's reactions. Koda was the first to trot inside, with her hood nearly sinking into the red carpet.

"H-How much is this room worth...?" Koda asked, bewildered at the sheer quality of the room.

"If I was forced to take a guess, I would assume that the bed alone is worth the price of several houses in Canterlot." The Princess replied. Mute's eye twitched slightly.

"Well, I shall leave you three to rest. Today has been a rough day for you all, I'm sure. And tomorrow will be even harder." The Princess said. The trio all gave nods before The Princess took her leave, trotting down the hallway from where they came.

"Mute, are you okay?" Koda asked.

"Several... Houses...?" Mute repeated slowly, mind boggled. Koda let out a short giggle before trotting further into the room, with Cruise following shortly after. Mute eventually broke out of his trance and proceeded into the room. He could have swore that he heard the carpet say 'Leave now' when he stepped on it.

"So... I'm taking the bed..." Cruise said quickly.

"...What...?" The remaining two replied with deadpanned expressions.

"I called it..." Cruise said with a shrug.

"I don't think arguing over beds is going to help you right now..." Mute said.

"Hey, last night of my life. Better enjoy it." Cruise replied.

"You better thank your flank that there aren't any knives around here..." Mute muttered. Cruise, ignoring the blatant threat, quickly trotted over and hopped onto the bed. Letting out a satisfied moan as his body sank halfway through the sheets. After a few more moments, light snoring could be heard from the bed.

"Are you kidding me?" Mute asked.

"Out like a light-bulb..." Koda muttered.

"I call the couch." The duo said at the same time.

"Fine, I'll take the chair..." Mute said immediately.

"Really? I mean... You can take the couch, if you want..." Koda said.

"If there's one life lesson I've been taught, it's that you never say 'no' to a mare." Mute replied.

"I don't think they teach you that in schools." Koda said with a laugh.

"...I never went to a school..." Mute replied.

"W-What?! But... Surely... How can you read, or write?" Koda asked.

"...Who said I could write...?" Mute replied.

"...You... Can't write...?" Koda said, shocked.

"No... I know how to talk... And I don't do much of that, either." Mute replied.

"...You've had a hard life, haven't you...?" Koda asked.

"...I was an orphan... I just rolled the dice like every other pony, I just rolled a one." Mute replied.

"I... I'm sorry, I shouldn't bring any of this up..." Koda apologized.

"Don't be... The memories don't hurt anymore... Not when you've got the present day to focus on..." Mute said.

"What about friends?" Koda asked.

"...I had ONE friend... It was that pig sleeping in the bed over there... But that's changed now..." Mute replied.

"Aren't I your friend?" Koda asked.

"I barely know you... You just got caught in a net of Minnows... And now you can have the pleasure of watching them get gutted..." Mute replied.

"Gutting... Fish...? Who does that?" Koda asked, slightly disgusted.

"The Griffons, as far as I know." Mute replied.

"Well, I'm still counting myself as your friend." Koda said.

"...That's... Good to know..." Mute said, forcing a small smile.

"It's getting late, I'm probably going to head to bed. It could be my last day on Equestria tomorrow..." Mute said. He trotted forward, but not before something happened that he wasn't expecting: Koda quickly leaned over and planted a kiss on his cheek, quickly retracting and blushing hard. Mute felt his cheek with his hoof, looking at Koda questionably.

"...What was that for?" He asked.

"...Good luck... For tomorrow..." Koda said quietly.

"You sure that's all it was for?" Mute teased.

"S-Shut up..." Koda replied. Mute smiled slightly before trotting over to the chair by the fireplace and making himself as comfortable as possible, while the sounds of Cruise snoring still echoing through the room.

_"Long day tomorrow... Best be prepared, or else I won't be seeing much of Equestria anymore..."_

**Oh man, oh jeez. It's nearly 12'o'clock at night and I spent the last hour finishing off this chapter. I don't really know why I didn't just do it yesterday. Damn, I really need to start getting back into this routine... Peace.**

**-Cupzy**


	16. Remembrance

**NOES! DIS CHAPTER BE LATE, BOI!**

A lone white colt trotted down the dilapidated structure of a hallway, the green paint on the walls peeled off in several spots, and the original bright hue of the paint had been reduced to a dark and grimy color. This was one of the seven buildings that stood in this pitiful excuse for a settlement; Not even worthy of grazing the maps of Equestria. The settlement had no less that forty ponies in it; Most of them colts or fillies. Most of the older ponies worked in the orphanage that stood in the center of the settlement. Everypony wanted to leave, but ten hoofsteps outside of the settlement and you'd become Timberwolf stew. Rations were few, and usually out-dated or stale, most of them going towards the orphanage in a vain attempt to give the children sustenance to survive yet another grueling day of life. This young white colt was one of those ponies. As far as he knew, his mother and father abandoned him when they were young, but he knew better. He remembers fragments of his time as a foal; the gentle touch of his mother, the hearty voice of his father, and the sinister gleam of the blade that ended both their lives. A single tear dropped from the colt's eye. How much longer did he have to endure until something good finally happened to his life? Just then, from the corner just ahead of the colt, three older colts stepped out, sadistic smiles formed on their faces when they laid eyes upon the young colt.

"Well, well, well... Look who it is guys... The silent one." The colt at the center said. The young colt said nothing, but simply kept his head down, trying to drown out the noises coming from the three hooligans.

"What's the matter?" The colt at the middle spoke again.

"Seriously, is there something wrong with you or something? Don't you ever speak?" He continued.

_"Just ignore them... They'll go away eventually..." _A voice echoed inside the young colt. His voice? He had no idea, he had never bothered to speak and find out.

"You've been crying... What for? That you can't speak? That you live here? That your parents are probably dead?" The colt continued. Another tear dropped from the colt's eye, causing the smile on the bully to increase in size.

"Wow, you don't even make a sound when you cry? What kind of a weakling are you? You're just a mute!" The colt shouted. Tears streamed from the colt's eyes, but he still remained silent.

_"Just go... And don't look back..." _The voice said. The colt turned around, tears forming small damp spots on the floor. He started trotted back to his room. He heard the bullies chanting behind him.

"Mute! Mute! Mute! Mute! Mute!" They shouted over and over. The word echoed in the colt's mind.

_"Mute... Mute..." _

"Mute..." He spoke.

"Mute... Mute...?" A voice said. Suddenly, the world around him started to grow darker, until only darkness remained. A tightening feeling grew near his eyes, and he realized that he had his eyes closed. He opened them a crack, trying to see the world around him.

"Finally, you're awake! What took you so long?" A familiar voice ringed out. Mute concentrated his eyes until the shape of a pony finally materialized before him. Koda.

_"A dream..." _Mute thought.

"Sorry... It was just a dream..." Mute muttered.

"A dream? What about?" Koda asked.

"...Memories..." Mute deadpanned.

"Oh... I'm sorry for bringing all that up last night..." Koda apologized.

"It's alright... At least now I remember how I got my name..." Mute said, muttering the last part under his breath.

"Well, Cruise is still asleep, so I figured that-"

"Say no more, you've just made my day..." Mute responded quickly. He quickly hopped out of the chair, stretching his limbs and letting out a quiet yawn before slowly trotting towards the bed that Cruise lay on, the snoring still apparent from the mass of flesh that lay in the center of the bed. Mute quietly clambered onto the bed, the overly-humongous size of the piece of furniture easily being able to allow Mute to stand on all fours.

"Didn't even bother to get under the covers... Bad idea..." Mute whispered to himself as he eyed the sleeping form of Cruise on the bed. He stepped back slightly before getting himself into a jumping position, a smile growing across his face as his plan slowly fell into place. **(Yeah, I totally meant to do that rhyme.) **

"Hush now, quiet now, it's time to rest your sleepy heads..." Mute sang to himself, the song sounding oddly familiar in some way.

"Hush now, quiet now, it's time to rest..." He repeated as he launched himself into the air, lowering his hooves immediately, poised to land on Cruise's body.

"Your sleepy..." He continued, after a few moments, his body made a loud collision with Cruise's sleeping form.

"Heads!" He finished as he heard a loud shriek come from the previously-sleeping pony. While Mute simply chuckled to himself at his work-of-art, Koda had just fallen to the floor in hysterics. A few seconds later, Mute was pushed backwards by Cruise.

"Yeah, yeah, really funny, Mute..." Cruise mumbled.

"Excuse me? 'I call the bed' my flank. You had it coming." Mute said with a smirk.

"Buck you..." Cruise cursed.

"Pardon me? Coming from the pony who made me waste several years of my life, all for naught, I might add." Mute said.

"Hey, we wouldn't BE in this situation if you had just agreed to go with me to the Griffon colonies!" Cruise shouted.

"Are you kidding me? We'd have reporter after reporter chasing after us, documenting our 'adventure' and relaying it to the entirety of Equestria... That's not what being a travelers about..." Mute replied.

"But you aren't a traveler anymore, are you?" Cruise asked.

"...No... I'm not... I think it's about time to find somewhere to stay for good..." Mute responded.

"Then stop telling me how to do my job..." Cruise said.

"Alright, you two. Don't start another fight in the castle, or The Princess won't even hesitate when she sends you to the moon." Koda said, having risen from the ground when the atmosphere tensed.

"I did nothing wrong..." Mute muttered, backing away from Cruise. Just then, the door to the bedroom slowly opened, the three ponies craned their necks to look at the figure standing at the doorway; A guard of the castle, he stood proud and tall as he examined the trio.

"Her majesty requires the presence of you three." He said, his voice completely free of emotion.

"Come, I shall escort you to the throne room." He continued. The trio glanced at each other before nodding at the guard. The three ponies followed the guard out of the bedroom door, back into the luxurious hallway for the extremely rich and important, as Mute mentally named it. The guard continued leading the three ponies through the confusing twists and turns, apparently knowing the entire castle better than the back of his hoof.

_"Must be a pain in the flank to act that way all day long..." _Mute thought to himself. The guard led the trio to the familiar sight of the extremely large door that led to the throne room, the exact same group of guards standing at attention in front of the gate, any signs of movement they made was completely invisible to the naked eye.

_"They've been here all night... That must pay well... Really well..." _Mute mentally noted. The guard that was escorted the three ponies gave a quick nod to the small platoon standing at the front of the door. Exactly the same as yesterday, the guards obediently turned around and placed their hooves on the door, the doors made the same thunderous sound as a crack of light appeared through the doorway, the sight still a jaw-dropping experience for the three ponies.

"You may enter." The guard said, taking a few steps back to allow the trio passageway into the throne room. The three ponies began trotting into the throne room, due to this being the second time the three had entered the throne room, Mute actually had time to examine the throne room instead of rolling his jaw back into a normal shape. The stained-glass windows were confusing, but images of ponies, mythical creatures and legends were shown on the glass. One image in particular caught Mute's eye, an image of six mares with gleaming artifacts around their necks, with the one in the center bearing a tiara. The six ponies struck Mute as familiar.

_"...Haven't I seen those six before...?" _Mute asked himself. He drew his memory back as far as it would go. The last time he ever remembered having any interaction between other ponies was when he was in Ponyville.

_"Let's see... There was that purple mare at the library... Who looks exactly like the one wearing the crown... Tiara... Thing... And the others... They also seem familiar... Wait a minute! That one there! That's... Uh... Apple... Applejack! That was it! And... Oh, there's that weird, mentally distraught pink pony... Pinkie Pie, was it? I recall seeing that white Unicorn at some point... I can't remember what her name was... I don't recognize the one with the rainbow mane... Wait... The one with the pink mane... That's... Fluttershy? Yeah... The one who let me sleep at her house... The one with the demon bunny..." _Mute slowly remembered.

"What's wrong, Mute? You've been eyeing that glass for a few minutes now..." Koda whispered.

"I recognize four... Maybe five of those mares in that image..." Mute replied.

"Are you sure? Those are the bearers of the Elements of Harmony..." Koda said. Mute was confused, he had never heard of these 'Elements of Harmony' But being a traveler, he didn't exactly get to read the news every day of his life.

"I've no idea what those are... Guess you'd better teach me after all this is over." Mute said.

"Don't worry, I will." She replied with a warm smile. Mute returned his gaze to the two thrones at the end of the room. Only this time, not only did Princess Celestia sit on her throne, but another figure of a pony sat in the throne next to her, the dark colors of the throne blending in perfectly with the color of her coat. Mute didn't get to read the news that often, but he knew who the other figure was: Princess Luna, Celestia's dear sister and controller of the moon and stars.

"Princess Luna is her as well... Does my mane look okay...?" Koda asked Mute quickly, the addition of another Princess made the situation much more formal - Not that it wasn't already.

"Don't worry about it too much, Koda. Besides, you always look good." Mute responded with a smirk. Koda's eyes widened. She instantly turned her head around, attempting to hide her new-found blush from both Mute and both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Koda swore that she heard one of the Princesses stifling a giggle. The trio now stood at the foot of the two thrones; The Princesses eyeing them intently. After a few moments of silence, a kindred voice dared to break the silence.

**"THOU MAY SPEAKEST" **A powerful voice boomed out, causing Cruise and Koda to cover their ears while Mute simply fell to the floor in absolute terror and surprise. The voice nearly shattered the stained-glass windows, echoing through the hall in a manner that nopony's eardrums should ever experience.

"I am ever so sorry, Tia. It really does slip sometimes..." A light voice whispered.

"It's quite alright, Luna. In any case, I'm sure it woke them up." Celestia said with a smile.

_"Yeah... Gonna be a long day..." _Mute said to himself when his ears stopped ringing.

**Oh man, I've been wanting to make one of those jokes ever since I started writing fanfics. That felt so satisfying. Peace.**

**-Cupzy**


	17. A Second Chance

**HOLY HE- WHERE DID I GO? Wow, this chapter is extremely late, I'm sorry about this, I was (once again) at my friend's house which stopped me from uploading anything. Seriously, sorry about this.**

**Alrighty, a few important announcements to be made this chapter:**

**1) On the 31st of this month (which happens to be July, if you didn't already know that) I will be going on a holiday! Normally, this wouldn't prevent me from uploading anything, but unfortunately, the house that we're going to lacks the luxury of an internet connection! We're going to be there for a week, so basically: No chapters during the start of ****August at any point, assuming I don't cut my wrists from the lack of internet.**

**2) If you aren't updated on the news regarding this fanfic (which I highly recommend you don't, please don't waste your time with me.) You'll know that my laptop is fixed! Hooray! One small problem remains, however. For some unexplained reason, my laptop now has the responsiveness of a sloth with no brain or limbs, it essentially freezes upon right-clicking the desktop (yup) and opening applications (I.E. Google chrome) has been a pain, not impossible, far from it, but still a pain. I don't see how this will affect my account in any way, but I'm saying this just in case the matter becomes worse (It's not a virus, I learned my lesson last time this happened.)**

**Anyway, I've rambled on long enough about how terrible I am at timekeeping and writing fanfics in general. On with the show!**

If one Princess was intimidating, then two was like being stared down by a Hydra whilst your hoof is caught in a bear-trap; Not fun. At all. Mute seemed to be having this trouble, he was standing between two (almost) immortal beings while he lay on the floor, being thrown to the latter via the royal voice of Princess Luna herself. Literally landing face-down on the royal floors of one of the most important structures in the entirety of Equestria in an ordinary ponies standards would be embarrassing, disrespectful and, in many cases, looked down upon. Once Mute's brain had registered the head-to-floor transition, his eyes still widened at the immense power of a mere voice, he instantly began to pick himself back up as quickly as possible, scrambling to four hooves as the Princesses looked on with slightly amused expressions. He took a hasty bow once he had resumed his standing position, noticing that he was slightly closer to the thrones than comfort called for.

"I-I apologize for my rudeness-" Mute flustered, trying to pull the correct words from his mouth. His words were halted when Princess Luna raised a hoof quickly, silencing Mute immediately.

"Thou need not worry, young Mute. Our actions were unorthodox, in respite, we should be the one to apologize." Princess Luna said calmly. Mute wasn't a very superstitious pony, and the return of Princess Luna did appear to be genuine, but the princess of the night still retained an intimidating figure, the words coming from her mouth certainly didn't suit her look at all.

"I-I assure you Princess... No harm was done..." Mute replied, slowly moving back into the trio.

"I have given Luna an explanation of the current situation, one that we hope to settle today." Princess Celestia said. Her gaze turned to Cruise, a mixture of pity and slight disappointment etched into her features.

"Cruise. Despite all you have done for Equestria in these past few years, every one of mine and Luna's subjects must be treated equally, and you must know that what you did has little evidence to support any kind of justification..." Celestia continued. Cruise let out a quiet sigh, his fate becoming slowly apparent to him.

"I... I understand, Princess..." Cruise replied slowly. Mute felt a small nudge on his shoulder, he craned his head around to show Koda staring at him with a solemn expression.

"You... Are you really going to let this happen...?" Koda asked.

"...He's getting what he deserved..." Mute replied coldly, returning his gaze to Cruise.

"Mute... Nopony deserves to be punished... You know that, right?" Koda asked. Mute gulped slightly, fragments of memories from his foalhood still reminding him of the challenges he had to endure to get this far in life.

"I... I know... But... All those things he said, all those things he done... To think that he used to be my closest friend..." Mute replied.

"Mute please... I know that deep down, you don't want this to happen either... Please... Just try and help him..." Koda said. Mute kept his eyes forward, trying to avoid what Koda was saying, keeping his eyes on Cruise.

"...For me...?" Koda finished, the source of her voice considerably closer than before. Mute continued to stare straight ahead, seemingly ignoring Koda's words.

_"He'll get a few months of community work or a day or two in a correctional facility... He's... He's getting what he deserves..." _Mute thought to himself.

"And as such, as much as I want everypony in Equestria to be treated with fairness, I'm afraid that this... Crime... Was simply too serious..." Celestia said to Cruise apologetically, almost as if it pained her to do something like this.

"Cruise... I'm afraid that I must strip you of your traveler status... For the safety of everypony around Equestria..." Celestia said, deciding the verdict.

Whoops.

That wasn't what Mute was expecting. A few days of punishment could have easily been in order for Cruise. The pony in question seemed rather surprised by the verdict as well.

"You're... Taking away... My occupation...?" Cruise asked. Celestia nodded.

"Yes, I felt that it was the most suiting punishment for a crime of this magnitude..." Celestia said, the apologetic tone still ringed in her voice.

"But... Travelling is what I do! It's my talent!" Cruise argued.

"I'm sorry Cruise, but this is what must happen... If anypony has any objections, then I highly recommend that you speak-"

"No." Mute said. One word, was all it was, but it still held more meaning than that of an ordinary sentence. Cruise shot a glare at Mute, baffled by his response. Celestia cleared her throat slightly.

"I'm sorry, Mute. Are you objecting?" Celestia asked. Mute lowered his head, thinking about the situation for a few moments before raising it again.

"Yeah, I am..." Mute responded.

"...Mute..." Cruise whispered under his breath.

"Yesterday, back when this all started... Cruise wasn't just violent all the way. It started off with an argument, an argument that I started. Technically, I was the one who got Cruise angry in the first place. After he knocked me down, he was still mad, so he took some of it out on Koda. You see, this wouldn't be happening if I hadn't got involved in this in the first place. I could have let Cruise just waltz into Canterlot and allow him to win the race. Then none of this would have happened in the first place. It wasn't Cruise's fault... It was mine as well. You could have banished him to the moon, you could have given him a sentence, but no. You chose to take away the only thing that mattered to him; His pride. What happens if Cruise can't travel anymore? It's what he was born to do, and nopony should have to give up on something that they do best. Just... Look, I don't want Cruise to get into any trouble... He may have knocked me to the floor, thrown insults at me, gotten me dragged into this... But deep down... Somewhere in my small heart... He's still my friend..." Mute said, speaking for the longest duration of time in his entire life. Koda and Cruise stared with blank disbelief, unable to process what Mute had just said, while Celestia sat with her head down, contemplating the claims that Mute had made. A thick silence fell over the room that lasted for a few moments before Celestia finally raised her head, drawing the attention of everypony in the room.

"If... If what you say is true, Mute... Then... I suppose I have been too hasty in my verdict..." Celestia said, the apologetic tone finally gone from her voice. Mute felt yet another nudge, but he didn't turn his head around.

"...Thank you..." Koda whispered. Despite the regret that shot through Mute's body, he smiled a little inside when he heard those words.

"Cruise... I offer my greatest apologies... I was far too quick to judge... Mute is correct, this is not how one shows harmony in the soul." Celestia apologized.

"T-Thank you... Princess..." Cruise replied, still dumbfounded at what Mute had just said.

"However, I will have to issue two formal warnings to each of you, I'm afraid I do not have the power to stop this should it happen a second time." Celestia said. Mute and Cruise both nodded.

"A fair deal. I would rather have a warning than losing my talent..." Cruise said.

"Well... After this... Ordeal... I'm sure that you three would like to continue on with your daily lives rather than purveying this any further, no?" Celestia asked.

"Sister... Did thou not mention that both Cruise and Mute lack any kind of home? Wouldn't it be in our best interest to provide accommodation until these two can recuperate from today?" Princess Luna asked.

"Oh, of course, where are my manners? I can provide rooms for the two of you until you can return to your desired locations, of you wish." Celestia proposed.

"Well, I'd imagine that Cruise will probably want to speak with me after all of this, it would be much appreciated, Princess." Mute replied.

"Um... Pardon me... But would it be acceptable for me to stay in a room for tonight as well, your majesty?" Koda said quietly.

"Of course, Koda." Celestia said with a smile.

"Thank you very much." Koda replied. Mute figured that there wouldn't be a more perfect time to bring up a certain subject.

"Koda is a musician, Princess, and an aspiring one, at that. Perhaps you would care to listen to her play before we leave the next morning?" Mute proposed. Koda's eyed widened as soon as Mute finished his sentence.

"Actually... It's quite alright if you do not have any free time tomorrow, Princess. I assume that you have better things to do than listen to the drivel that I play..." Koda retaliated.

"Koda... Everypony in Equestria should know that I always have time for my subjects. I would be honored to hear you play, if it's not too much of a bother, of course." The Princess responded.

"O-Of course not, your majesty... I'd be happy to play for you..." Koda said with a small smile.

"I am happy to hear that, Koda. I shall have a guard escort you to a room for the night." Celestia said. Almost as if on cue, the same stallion that led them into the throne room at the start of the day trotted through the humongous doors at the entrance to the throne room, signalling for the trio to follow him when he reached a sufficient distance. The trio followed the guard out of the throne room and back into the complex of hallways that made up the castle. It seemed that the guard was taking them to the same room as before, as the hallway took a very regal look at one specific turn. Once the room was reached, the guard pushed open the door and stepped aside to let the trio inside, Koda still having a jaw-dropping reaction to the quality of the room while Mute and Cruise trotted inside immediately, oblivious to the fact that they were in a room that probably costed the amount of bits it would take to become king of Equestria for a day. Once all three ponies were inside, the guard closed the door behind them, followed by the sound of him returning to his respective post. Almost immediately as the door was closed, Cruise and Koda shot a glance at Mute, who smirked awkwardly.

"Why?" Cruise asked.

**OH MAN, SO MANY CLIFFHANGERS. Once again, sorry for how short this chapter was, it's just a case of 'I'm an idiot' Everything important was pretty much put at the introduction to this chapter. Peace.**

**-Cupzy**


	18. Schizophrenia

**OH NOES! I'm late!... Again... *cough***

"...Excuse me...?" Mute asked.

"...What the buck just happened?" Cruise rephrased, shaking his head.

"You're not in trouble anymore, that's what just happened." Mute deadpanned.

"Apparently not, thanks to you." Cruise said.

"Yeah, I suppose I helped you out at some point, didn't I? Anyway, I'll probably be going in an hour or two, and I suggest that you two do the same." Mute replied before trotting towards the expensive chairs that littered the outside of the fireplace.

"Mute... Why did you do it?" Cruise asked. Mute stopped in his tracks, waiting a few seconds before letting out a long sigh.

"I didn't like the idea of having your own occupation taken away from you, it didn't seem fair." He replied.

"I thought you hated me...?" Cruise asked.

"And I still do. Count yourself lucky that I stepped in when I did." Mute replied.

"So all that other stuff was a lie?" Cruise asked.

"...What other stuff?" Mute replied.

"You said that I was your friend... Even after all those things I did..." Cruise said.

"Some things are better left in the past... We move on, things change... To be honest, I'll probably never see you two again after this..." Mute replied.

"...You haven't got a home... Where'll you go?" Cruise asked.

"I'll... I'll find somewhere..." Mute replied.

"...You still haven't answered my question..." Cruise stated.

"What question?" Mute asked.

"Why did you help me?" Cruise pursued.

"Because I wanted to. I could have easily left you to rot under Celestia's stare but I decided not to. I did it out of pure pity for you. We're not friends. Not anymore. I don't ever want to see your face again." Mute replied harshly, breaking eye contact with Cruise and storming off in the opposite direction. After a few seconds, he felt a hoof on his shoulder, his anger rose, almost to the point where he was going to retaliate with violence. That was, until he heard the solemn voice of Cruise.

"...Thank you... For everything... I know all that stuff I did was unforgivable, and that I should have just been banished to the moon on the spot. But you stopped that of your own accord. You saved me from losing one of the most important things in my life, and I can't thank you enough. I know that I've been a horrible pony, and that I've gotten cocky in these last few years, and I understand if you never want to see me again. But just know that I left you with respect for the pony who helped me out when I needed it the most." Cruise said. As he spoke, Mute felt his anger slowly drain away, remembering what he had said in the throne room. Slowly, Cruise lowered his hoof from Mute's shoulder and trotted off slowly, leaving Mute standing with his head to the floor.

"Hey..." Mute said quietly. His voice was just enough to penetrate Cruise's ears. The pony in question craned his head around, staring back at Mute, who still had his head lowered to the ground.

"...We're...Uh... Still friends... Right...?" Mute said, the corners of his mouth forming a small smirk. Cruise took a few seconds to let out a long sigh before turning around quickly and galloping straight for Mute, outstretching his forelegs as his body made contact with Mute's, sending them both falling to the ground. Mute let out a quick yelp of surprise as he felt Cruise pin him down to the ground. After a few seconds of quick hesitation, Cruise locked Mute into what he could only describe as the most bone-crushing bear hug he had ever been in, actually having to push Cruise away forcefully to stop his spine from being broken in half. He let out a few coughs of both surprise and sudden mutilation as Cruise finally decided to let the poor pony go.

"Yeah... We are..." Cruise said slowly as Mute continued to cough up the vast majority of his previous lunch.

"Good... To know..." Mute said in between gasps of breath. Cruise chuckled slightly before reaching out his hoof towards Mute, which the latter promptly grabbed onto shortly before being lifted to four hooves once more.

"You're a real schizophrenic, you know that?" Cruise asked jokingly.

"Comes... With the personality..." Mute said, still breathing heavily from his encounter with the dreaded hug. Koda giggled to herself slightly from the other end of the room, amused at the antics of the two rivals. A few seconds of silence filled the room.

"But in all honesty, thanks for getting me out of that one, Mute. It really means a lot to me." Cruise said with a smile.

"As much as I loved it when you almost knocked me unconscious, betrayed me and dragged me into a situation where my life on Equestria was potentially over, and as much as I hate to admit it; I suppose we've been through so much already to care anymore." Mute responded.

"You never know, I might see you again at some point." Cruise said.

"I doubt it. But you can dream, I suppose." Mute replied.

"It's nice to see that you two finally made up. I was beginning to think that you'd be mortal enemies for the rest of your lives after that silly race." Koda chimed in, having moved closer to the duo whilst they talked.

"Oh, speaking of which... I never gave you those bits, did I?" Cruise asked. Mute shook his head.

"Don't worry about it, Cruise. I've been through enough already to care about some measly bits." Mute replied. Cruise shrugged his shoulders.

"Your loss..." Cruise said nonchalantly, eyeing both Mute and Koda respectively.

"Well, me and you have had our talk, I'll allow you two to have your talk." Cruise said with a smirk.

"...Talk...?" Mute asked.

"I'm the one who flanked in on your day at the cafe, it's only fair that you two actually get to talk for once." Cruise replied as he trotted past Mute, moving his mouth closer to his ear as he trotted by.

"Don't worry, Mute. She's pretty cute." Cruise whispered into Mute's ear seconds before receiving a hoof aimed towards his chest. Cruise winced in pain slightly.

"Buck you." Mute replied, clenching his teeth in a vain attempt to stop himself from blushing.

"Sweet Celestia, blame me for trying to kick-start a relationship..." Cruise mumbled to himself as he trotted away, holding his chest in light pain.

"Flank-hole..." Mute muttered before returning his gaze to Koda.

"Hello..." He said awkwardly, inwardly cursing his own mind for coming up with such a bad way of starting a conversation.

"Hi..." Koda responded, rubbing the back of her head slightly.

"Why did you do that... In there?" Koda asked.

"I just explained the whole thing to Cruise..." Mute deadpanned.

"No, not that... Why did you tell the Princess that I was a musician...?" Koda asked again. Mute slapped his brain mentally, vowing to receive a good night's sleep tonight.

"I... Figured it was the right thing to do...?" Mute replied, unsure on whether or not Koda particularity liked that response.

"You... You didn't have to..." Koda said.

"I don't get it. You said that playing in front of the Princess was your dream. I'm just helping to fulfill that dream..." Mute responded. Koda opened her mouth to speak, but closed it just as quickly, letting out a defeated sigh.

"You weren't going to do it, so I did it for you. I assumed that I owed you after... All this..." Mute continued.

"But... I haven't got an instrument... Or any sheet music..." Koda replied, head hanging low.

"Sulking isn't going to get you anywhere. She'll probably give you what you need, just give it your best shot." Mute said, playfully nudging Koda's shoulder for encouragement.

"Thanks Mute... It was really sweet of you to ask the Princess..." Koda replied.

"...Do I get another kiss?" Mute asked hopefully, pulling the dumbest expression he could muster. Koda giggled slightly before responding.

"...We never finished that lunch together, did we?" She asked.

"...No... I can't remember the last time I ate something..." Mute replied, his stomach rumbling on cue.

"Well... Maybe we could meet up again sometime?" Koda asked.

"Sounds great. Maybe this time we won't get distracted by Princesses and empty promises." Mute replied. Koda's expression reversed, looking at Mute as she remembered the events of the previous day.

"...You... Really forgive Cruise... After all of that?" Koda asked.

"...He's a good pony at heart... I still hate him for what he did, but he seems to have changed. Maybe the idea of losing his talent scared him into being less of a flank-hole." Mute whispered, making sure that Cruise didn't hear.

"I see... Tell me, why did you actually help him?" Koda asked curiously. Mute let out a long sigh and thought for a moment before answering.

"...Because you convinced me..." He replied.

"...I didn't think you had actually listened to me... I thought you had just ignored me..." Koda said.

"You kidding me? I don't think there's ever been a moment where I haven't listened to you..." Mute replied.

"And why do you always listen to me?" She asked.

"...Because you're my friend... Friends listen to each other..." Mute replied.

"And they apparently like kissing each other on the cheeks?" Koda asked playfully.

"Pardon me? I don't recall one instance where I was the one that did the deed." Mute retaliated, hiding the light crimson developing on his cheeks.

"You never seemed to hate it either..." Koda added.

"That's because I'm irresistible, I've got mares hanging off me every five seconds." Mute replied sarcastically.

"W-What?! Are you trying to assume something?" Koda asked.

"Oh yeah, I've seen your eyes drift towards my flank whenever we walk and talk. Such disgusting behavior is simply disgraceful, especially from an upstanding Canterlot citizen like you." Mute added, pulling a smug face at Koda. It was now Koda's turn to flash red, shooting an playful/angry look at Mute as she turned her head away.

"Point. Proved." Mute said, suddenly wishing that he could make some kind of snapping sound with his hooves.

"...You really need to get your name changed." Koda said, her voice slightly quiet due to the fact that her head was facing away from Mute as she tried to hide her blush.

"Why does everypony keep saying that? What would I get it changed to? Loud Mouth? Maybe you should get YOUR name changed as well, I think 'Nosy McNosy' suits you." Mute replied, prompting a small laugh from Koda.

"Anyway... How about we meet up tomorrow at the cafe we were at yesterday?" Koda asked after her short convulsion ended.

"I don't know... Something bad always happens when I go there..." Mute complained sarcastically.

"You've been there once..." Koda deadpanned.

"And look what happened!" Mute replied.

"Fine, where would you suggest?" Koda asked with a smile and cocky eyebrows. Mute opened his mouth to name an eating establishment before closing it again, putting his hoof to his mouth in confusion.

"...Fine. We'll go to your stupid cafe." He pouted.

"Oh, stop being such a foal." Koda replied with a giggle.

"I'm not being a foal..." Mute continued pouting under his breath.

"Great! We can meet up tomorrow, if that's okay with you." Koda said.

"Sure. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to afford everything." Mute said, shaking his saddlebag and making the sound of bits jingling around. Koda eyed the saddlebag for a few seconds.

"And we'll get you a new saddlebag, that one's pretty filthy." Koda said.

"Yes, because I had access to luxury bathtubs and cleaning equipment while running away from Manticores in the Everfree Forest..." Mute responded sarcastically, prompting a giggle from Koda.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow?" Koda asked, checking for confirmation

"I believe that's what we agreed on, yes." Mute replied.

"Okay, I'll see you around." Koda said as she headed for the door of the room, quickly sliding out of the door and closing it behind her. Unbeknownst to the duo, both Mute and Koda made one, small, cry of glee when the two were separated. Mute heard the familiar hoofsteps of Cruise behind him as he turned around to greet his old friend with a smile on his face.

"So... Did you score?" Cruise asked immediately, Mute's facial expression remained as he spoke his next sentence.

"I'm going to start wounding you now... I'm not sure when I'll stop..." He spoke.

"Did I say something wrong?" Cruise asked innocently.

**Yay! I thought I wasn't going to get this chapter out due to the current time and my desperate need of sleep. Although, I am rather conflicted at this point, I'm not sure whether or not to end this story within the next few chapters or to continue it until it reaches the normal length of one of my fanfics. I don't know, I'm just excited about starting my next story (TOTALLY NOT A SEQUEL TO REDEMPTION OR ANYTHING. NAHP. NO BLATANT LYING HERE.)** **Peace.**

**-Cupzy**


	19. Remorse

**Alright, so here's a story for the ages: I woke up this morning per usual, brushed my teeth and made myself a delicious bowl of rice krispies, I walked back upstairs and looked at the small clock on the bedside cabinet. Realizing that I had around an hour until I had to leave for school, I decided to open up my laptop and dick about until the possibility of learning was unlocked. The first thing I see as my laptop painstakingly drags itself into digital existence is that my laptop requires battery charge. I tracked down my charger among the clutter of random crap that I call my room and plug in the charger, only to realize one flaw; The charger wasn't charging. After fiddling around with the charger a few times, I eventually got it to work for a minute or two, until it stopped again. I could do the same thing over and over again until the laptop was at full charge. By this point, I was freaking the fuck out because my charger wasn't working properly anymore as my previous three chargers had done the exact same thing (*Pause writing to kill Jenny Long Legs that had just flown into my room) I eventually got the charger to work, but if at any point I suddenly stop uploading chapters before the 31st of this month, then you know that my charger is officially broken and thus will begin another tormenting month of no internet. Good day.**

"...Where is he?" Koda asked, glancing at the clock hung up on the nearby wall impatiently. The time was 13:00, and a bored mare sat at a table with her head resting on her hoof. It was a day after the 'incident' in which two ponies she barely knew dragged her into a situation that somehow ended with an audience with the Princesses of Equestria themselves. After a short debate, the accused pony was released with a formal warning at the wish of the second pony. The latter happened to be Mute; The pony whom Koda was supposed to be meeting today at a small cafe near the entrance of the city. She had been there for half an hour, and, to be brutally honest; was getting rather bored. A pony with a small plate of assorted beverages approached Koda, taking care as to avoid spilling any of the drinks.

"Are you ready to place your order, madam?" The pony said, a foreign accent that Koda had never heard of accompanying his words.

"No, thank you. I'm waiting for somepony." Koda replied politely. The waiter nodded his head before trotting off towards a table surrounded by several ponies and setting the drinks on it. Koda let out a long sigh. Her performance in front of Princess Celestia that morning went without a hitch, The Princess was kind enough to lend her a well-made violin along with some sheet music. The Princess seemed overjoyed at Koda's performance, stating happily that she would be honored to hear Koda play again. Koda's glee knew no bounds at this point, and she mentally thanked Mute for making the decision to tell The Princess about her.

"Maybe he forgot... Granted, I suppose, considering all that happened yesterday..." Koda mused to herself.

_"As much as the room was nice, it doesn't really serve any purpose without a stupid alarm clock!" _Mute shouted mentally to himself, galloping through the streets of Canterlot while ponies shot odd glances at him.

_"What if she's left already? Good going, Mute. You're an idiot." _Mute continued, panting heavily. After a few more seconds of galloping, he slowed himself to a trot, attempting to catch his breath. He had been in this state ever since he woke up half an hour ago, he asked a guard for the time and he hadn't stopped since. He was pretty sure that the guard was rather confused as well.

"How... In the name of Celestia... Did I win that race?" Mute asked himself in between pants of breath. He looked around to get his bearings, trying to decipher where he had actually ended up. He had been galloping off sheer muscle memory ever since he left the castle, and he had begun to wonder if he had actually been running in circles for half and hour, some of the buildings were starting to look oddly familiar. The area around him became more familiar as his lungs started to circulate properly.

"This... This is the place where me and Cruise... Had a pleasant conversation..." Mute said to himself, slowly remembering the area around him.

"Doesn't that mean the cafe is..." Mute pondered as he slowly craned his head around. He mentally facehooved as soon as he saw the building behind him. Standing blatantly in plain view right in front of him was the cafe. Few ponies tended to visit a cafe at this time of the morning, and the cafe was rather empty due to this. Mute breathed in and out a few more times to lower his heart rate, which made him feel like Pinkie Pie on a caffeine rush. Mute trotted into the cafe, looking around for Koda. After a few minutes of searching, Mute's findings were fruitless, and he was about to give up.

_"I suppose she left... Well, I probably would too considering I would be waiting for half an hour..." _Mute thought to himself as he trotted towards the exit. He was about to leave when his eyes fell upon one particular pony, a pony with her head turned away from Mute, apparently waiting for somepony to arrive.

"Well, I'm an idiot." Mute spoke aloud, changing his course and trotting towards the table that the mare was on. Surprisingly, Koda still hadn't turned her head around by the time Mute had reached her table. He sat down opposite Koda, the mare in question still sat with her head turned in the opposite direction.

"Isn't it rude to avoid eye contact with the pony opposite yourself?" Mute spoke in his most stuck-up impersonation. Koda jumped in surprise before quickly turning her head around, blushing slightly when she saw Mute opposite her.

"Oh... I... I'm sorry..." Koda said, stuttering her words.

"Sorry? It should be me who's apologizing, considering you've been waiting for so long. I was expecting you to have left already." Mute said.

"Oh, I wasn't here for too long... Why did you think I would leave?" Koda asked.

"You probably have better things to be doing than speaking with me?" Mute asked.

"You're a very positive pony..." Koda muttered sarcastically.

"I try." Mute responded with a smirk. "So how did your performance with Celestia go?"

"Surprisingly well. Although I still don't think my nerves have calmed down yet." Koda replied. As they spoke, the same waiter from before trotted up to the duo's table.

"May I take your orders?" He asked.

"I'll have a salad, thank you." Koda replied.

"Just a daisy sandwich, thanks." Mute said. His stomach growled uneasily.

"Scratch that, I'll have a salad as well." Mute said again, fearing that his stomach was now sentient. Koda giggled slightly as the waiter trotted away.

"Well, that's good to hear. Well, not the nerves, I mean..." Mute flustered.

"Yeah... So... How was your morning?" Koda asked.

"...Tiresome..." Mute deadpanned.

"I see..." Koda responded awkwardly. A conversation topic was hard to come by early in the morning, especially if you're sitting next to the pony who had just kissed you on the cheek twice.

"So... What do you plan to do now?" Koda asked.

"...Settle down somewhere... I've traveled nearly everywhere in Equestria, and I don't have much left to do anymore..." Mute replied.

"Hm... I always thought travelling would be an adventurous endeavor" Koda said.

"You visit a town, ask for directions to the next, spend a night camped outside, praying to Celestia that an Ursa doesn't bite your tail off and continue onto the next town... I'm surprised I wasn't killed, to be honest..." Mute replied.

"I suppose when you put it like that..." Koda said.

"...It doesn't sound half as fun, no." Mute replied. The waiter came back a few seconds later with two bowls of salad on a large plate, he put the two bowls down onto the table, receiving thanks from the duo before trotting to another table to serve another pony.

"It kind of reminds you how we met, doesn't it?" Koda asked.

"Yeah... Except you have bits this time around..." Mute replied. Koda giggled slightly before levitating a small piece of lettuce and biting a piece from it.

"Magic must be really handy..." Mute said as Koda finished her bite.

"Yeah, it helps a lot with everyday tasks." Koda replied.

"Pretty sure my mother was a Unicorn..." Mute said, trying to remember as much of his mother as possible.

"...Mother...? I... Thought you were an orphan?" Koda asked carefully, trying her best to avoid prying.

"Where'd you think I came from? An egg?" Mute asked.

"True... But... What happened to them...?". Koda asked. She could instantly tell she had struck a nerve, Mute's face told it all, he let out a long sigh before responding.

"...The workers at the orphanage... They told me that they had abandoned me as a foal, left me to rot on the streets of whatever place I was born in... I knew better... They were both murdered..." Mute responded slowly, shattered memories of his foalhood slowly returning to him.

"Mute... I'm... I'm so sorry..." Koda said, feeling dreadful inside for bringing such a matter up.

"Hey... It happened a long time ago... I didn't know them well enough to care... So I never let it bother me..." Mute replied. He was lying. He partially remembered how kind his parents were to him, how they would always have time for him.

"You know that you're the first pony I've told about this?" Mute asked.

"You... Haven't told anypony else...?" Koda asked. Mute shook his head slowly.

"Nobody was nice or old enough to understand or care about my troubles... So I didn't tell anypony... I just kept to myself. It turned be into a bitter pony, I wouldn't talk with anypony, I wouldn't cry when I got hurt, I wouldn't answer when somepony asked me a question... All the foals in the orphanage... They called me a mute whenever they saw me..." Mute replied.

"And that's..." Koda started.

"...How I got my name, yeah." Mute finished.

"Mute... I'm sorry for bringing this up... You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to..." Koda said.

"It's alright... It... Got a lot off my chest..." Mute replied.

"Maybe we should leave... I doubt anypony likes the noise we're making..." Koda said.

"Yeah, probably a good idea." Mute said, reaching into his saddlebag and pulling out his share of the bits. He threw them onto the table whilst Koda remained in her seat.

"As I suspected, you haven't got any bits on you, have you?" Mute asked. Koda blushed slightly before shaking her head. Mute shrugged his shoulder and pulled out the remaining bits, placing them onto the table.

"T-Thanks..." Koda muttered as Mute gestured for her to follow him out of the cafe. The two remained silent as they left the establishment, Koda worried about Mute's emotional state whilst the pony in question was struggling to deal with the fact that Koda now had to know about his past. Once outside, Koda eventually spoke.

"Hey... Thanks for paying my share of the price..." She said.

"No problem... It was the least I could do." Mute said as he turned around to face Koda. A few seconds of silence passed before Koda finally decided to move her head towards Mute's cheek. She was stopped, however, when Mute moved backwards slightly, forcing Koda to move her head back into it's original position.

"Don't kiss me on the cheek." Mute said.

"...Why?" Koda asked.

"Things are awkward enough with you knowing about my past, if you did, then things would just be-" Mute spoke before his sentence was cut off. Not by a sudden cough or blow, but by the unfamiliar sensation of somepony's lips against his own. Mute's eyes widened after a second of analyzing the situation. After a few seconds, Koda pulled back from the kiss, the redness forming on her cheeks knowing no apparent bounds. Mute was no different, and both ponies stared at each other for a few seconds.

"..." Mute didn't speak. Out of all the things he expected Koda to do at that point, kissing him was at the very bottom of the list.

"You said to not kiss you on the cheek... I didn't have many other options..." Koda joked.

"...Clever..." Mute responded slowly.

"Listen... I know that you've always had a... Thing for me..." Koda said, her blush somehow becoming brighter. Mute gulped slightly before answering.

"...N-No... Who told you that..?" Mute replied uneasily.

"I don't mean to sound offensive... But... It was pretty obvious..." Koda responded with a small smile.

"...Am I really that bad at hiding things?" Mute replied. Koda giggled slightly before responding.

"Unfortunately, yes..." Koda said. "At first, I thought it was just a silly crush. Something that I could just brush off, considering I wasn't going to see you again. But then... You started turning up everywhere in my life, from the hotel room to the train station, you always seemed to be there at the correct time. And I have to admit... Your personality... Your motives... And, quite frankly, your looks, intrigued me... You really started to grow on me after a while... And I started to question if that first kiss really did mean anything... Especially when I did it a second time..." Koda explained.

"So that wasn't for good luck, then?" Mute asked. Koda giggled slightly.

"No. And when you agreed to meet me in the cafe yesterday... I have to admit, I was quite overjoyed for some unknown reason... And now, after you've told me about your past... I realize that you've never had anypony as a friend apart from Cruise... That, combined with what I already felt... Made me do what I just did." Koda continued.

"I... Have no idea how to respond to that..." Mute replied, rubbing the back of his head.

"Really? I assumed that you already knew the answer." Koda said with a smile, the blush still remained on her cheeks along with Mute.

"Honestly, I really don't know how to act in this kind of situat-" Mute said, cut off once again by Koda's lips meeting his own. His eyes didn't widen this time around, but his brain actually came to terms with the fact that Koda was actually kissing him. The mare in question pulled away after a few more seconds, looking to the ground slightly in shyness, dragging her hoof across the ground.

"Do you know how to respond now?" Koda asked.

"Uh... I... Like you...?" Mute replied slowly.

"I think you can do better than that." Koda said.

"...I really like you...?" Mute replied.

"A really special word. It starts with an 'L'?" Koda said.

"I..." Mute said, sighing in defeat.

"I... L-Love you...?" Mute said nervously. Koda smiled almost immediately.

"Congratulations, we have a winner." Koda said happily.

"So... You're okay with that...?" Mute asked. Koda responded by trotting next to Mute and nuzzling the side of his body affectionately, prompting Mute's blush to enlarge and brighten.

"Okay with it? I like to use the word 'mutual' instead." Koda replied happily.

"...Okay..." Mute replied awkwardly. Coming from a pony who had no previous experience with mares, he found the situation he was in to be rather awkward, although he felt strangely at ease with Koda by his side.

"So... Where were you planning on going after all this?" Koda asked.

"...I was going to head back to Ponyville, it seemed like a nice town after a few days." Mute responded.

"Funny you should mention Ponyville... That was exactly where I was going as well..." Koda replied with a smile.

**Yay! Chapter finished! And I had to fit on almost 1,000 extra words to finish it off. In other news - Wait a minute, what happens now? Is this it? Have I finished this story? No, seriously, have I actually finished this story? I'm filled with an odd sense of accomplishment yet a small lacking feeling still resides at the back of my mind. Hm... Odd... Also, the award for the most '...' in a story goes to...**

**Peace.**

**-Cupzy**


	20. Epilogue - A Fresh Start

**Okay, so I'm back. That didn't take very long, did it? I'll be honest, I never expected my charger to get fixed this quickly, and by 'get fixed' I mean that I now have a completely new charger plugged in. So I suppose I overreacted a little. **

_"Don't_ worry about it, darling. It was the least I could do for you after seeing that horrible thing." Rarity said as she opened the door to the Carousel Boutique.

"I appreciate the help Rarity, although I do feel a little bad for not giving you anything in return." A voice replied as the figure of a Pony walked out of the building.

"Oh please, don't worry yourself over it. I'm not the element of generosity for nothing!" Rarity exclaimed.

_"Oh yeah, all that element nonsense. I'll have to ask Koda to give me the run-down on Equestrian history... Maybe teach me how to write too..." _The pony thought to himself.

"Well, thanks anyway, Rarity." The pony replied, waving to Rarity as she disappeared back into the Boutique. The pony stared at his back intently, the tattered container that was once his saddlebag was now a well-made carrier bag made out of strong materials. It had been a few days since he had arrived from Canterlot, following a dispute with a few members of nobility - It was really nothing serious. Some minor conflicts there, a black eye there, and an argument with the most powerful Pony in Equestria. All in all, everything went without a hitch.

"Where did Koda say the house was... Hm... I'm getting bad at this. Not good. Oh yeah! You turn left right before the library..." Mute said to himself, remembering the directions one by one. Mute had personally chosen to settle down in Ponyville, the town was small and quiet, but from what he had heard, Ponyville was one of the most important settlements in Equestria. Tying in with the defeat of the spirit of disharmony; Discord.

_"That was a weird day to travel. I swear that tree was talking to me..." _Mute thought to himself. Ponyville had also played an important part in the restoration of the Crystal Empire, and the inevitable defeat of Queen Chrysalis and her army of Changelings.

_"Should probably report to Celestia that there's tons of Changeling camps in the Everfree... Little buckers nearly took my head off.." _Mute thought to himself. Mute had come to Ponyville with Koda; A mare that got caught up in all of the problems that Mute had been through, and his unofficial marefriend. Although, 'unofficial' seemed to be the wrong word entirely, even though nothing was said between them, she had kissed him on the lips twice, essentially said that she loved him, and they were currently living together, so Mute assumed that it was already pretty official, but he didn't want to assume. The first problem that they had faced when arriving in Ponyville was that they were incredibly short on bits. After a few minutes of panicking, Koda eventually came up with a solution.

Koda was apparently brought up by an incredibly upstanding and, quite frankly, incredibly rich family. Her father was an esteemed noble that constantly visited the day-court to partake in debates with Princess Celestia. As such, Koda's family owned a lot of property, for reasons unknown to Mute, Koda's family essentially had a small house in every major city in Equestria. Manehatten, Appleoosa, Cloudsdale, Las Pegasus, Canterlot, etc. With the addition of Ponyville being an incredibly important town in Equestria, Koda's family also bought a small house there as well. Koda reassured Mute that the house was completely devoid of residents and was likely filled with dusty old furniture that would have originally been rather expensive should the spider nest in every corner of the house be removed. Surprisingly, the house was in rather good shape, and only a few hundred spiders had taken residence in the establishment, thus leading to an afternoon of messy hooves and crushed spider carcasses to be swept away.

_"That was the most fun I'd ever had..." _Mute mused to himself nonchalantly with a smile as he continued wandering down the quiet dirt roads of Ponyville. Koda had spent the entire morning shouting at Mute to get a new saddlebag, which prompted him to seek out the nearest tailor and fulfill Koda's wish. Eventually, Mute came to the door of a small house on the near-edge of Ponyville. The house looked decent from the outside, two floors and four generic windows decorated the front of the house, with three rooms on each floor. Koda had worked out the layout fairly quickly. The first floor consisted of a small living room, a kitchen and a bathroom, whilst the top floor consisted of two bedrooms, which housed Mute and Koda respectively, and an unused room. The outside of the house was painted a dull brown, but Mute wasn't complaining, a place to rest your head was the only thing he asked for. He got a house and a marefriend. He walked up to the door, painted a white which peeled of in several places, not enough to deter any visitors, but the house certainly wasn't going to win any awards. Celestia's sun had just started to set over the horizon. He knocked on the door twice with his hoof, readjusting his saddlebag while he waited for an answer. Eventually, the door opened, revealing a very tired-looking Koda.

"Oh... Hello Mute." Koda said with a smile.

"You look tired." Mute responded. His question was acknowledged by a very loud yawn from the mare.

"I'm sorry Mute. A lot has happened in these past few days, I'm not really getting much sleep..." Koda responded wearily, moving out of the way to allow Mute to trot into the house.

"Neither have I, but I suppose you're not really used to that kind of thing." Mute responded.

"Don't worry, I'm not that tired." Koda reassured.

"I got a new saddlebag, like you asked." Mute said, causing Koda's attention to be drawn to his back.

"Ah. I was wondering when you would get around to that." Koda replied.

"You should probably head back to sleep, I'd imagine it'd do you some good." Mute said, loosening his saddlebag and placing it down on a nearby table.

"Yeah... A mare needs her beauty sleep, I suppose." Koda responded with a smirk.

"I always though you were already doing pretty good in that department, anyway." Mute said, causing a slight blush to appear on Koda's cheeks.

"T-Thanks... Anyway... I'm probably going to head to sleep. You should too, even for a pony of your standard, sleep deprivation happens to the best of us." Koda said as she trotted towards the stairs. Mute let out a small yawn of his own, looking outside to see that Celestia's sun had just disappeared over the horizon, and Luna's moon was just starting to rise into the sky.

"Good idea." Mute replied to nopony as he headed towards the stairs. The wooden steps made a large creaking noise as Mute stepped on them one by one, with one particular step actually lowering slightly when he stepped on it.

_"Note to self: Fix house before it collapses onto our heads." _Mute thought, chuckling at his own joke as he reached the top of the stairs. From the top, the small banister that ran above the stairs formed a makeshift hallway that branched into three rooms. The one on the end was Mute's, while Koda's sleeping form could be seen in her room from where Mute was standing. He smiled at the sleeping Pony and headed for his own room, which consisted of a small wooden bed and a large map plastered onto the wall, small, black X shapes dotted around the map where cities and settlements were marked and drawn, whilst a humongous X decorated the city of Canterlot. Mute smiled as he remembered the memento from his past as he moved himself into the bed, which made a similar creaking noise to the stairs as he lay down on it. After he had moved into a comfortable position, Mute closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift off to sleep.

A few hours later, Mute's eyes opened once more, a silent yawn escaping his throat as he focused his vision. He sat up in the bed, noticing a faint glow emitting from some object in front of him. Upon closer inspection, the object appeared to be a lit candle, surrounded by a purple/magenta glow that held it in place in the air. Mute looked right from the candle to reveal an unexpected sight; Koda stood next to his bed, her horn glowing and small bags forming under her eyes.

"Koda...?" Mute said wearily, still waking himself up.

"Hey Mute... Listen... I... I can't get to sleep..." Koda said quietly and slowly.

"...That's no good, is it?" Mute responded groggily, receiving a shaking head as his response.

"Well... I was wondering if..." Koda began, her cheeks flushing a bright crimson as she trailed off.

"What is it?" Mute asked.

"If I could... Sleep... With you?" Koda finished, turning her head away as she finished her sentence.

"Uh..." Mute responded. It wasn't exactly a question he was expecting.

"S-Sure... If... If you want to..." Mute replied awkwardly. The bed he slept in could easily hold two Ponies, it was just the fact that a mare had just asked if she could sleep in the bed that he was currently sleeping in. Mute developed a blush of his own as he moved to the far end of the bed, drooping one leg over the side of the bed to make a comfortable space for Koda. Slowly, and with extreme embarrassment, Koda moved herself into the bed next to Mute.

"Mute... You... Don't look very comfortable..." Koda remarked, noticing Mute's leg problem. Mute coughed slightly before moving his leg back onto the bed, forcing him to move closer to Koda.

"Hey... Thanks for letting me sleep in here, Mute..." Koda said.

"N-No problem..." Mute replied.

"Hey, Mute... Can I ask you a question?" Koda whispered, seemingly unaware of the fact that they were the only two ponies in the entire house.

"...Sure..." Mute replied.

"What do you... See me as?" Koda asked. Mute was dumbfounded, he didn't actually know how to answer. The initial answer he had in his mind was clear.

_"You're the mare that I love..." _He recited in his brain.

"Uh... Well... We've already established that I... Like you... So... More than friends, maybe?" Mute said hopefully. After a few moments of staring blankly at him, Koda slowly pulled a smile and shifted closer to Mute, nuzzling his chest as if it was a pillow.

"...I love you, Mute." Koda said slowly. That was the first time she had ever said that, and to Mute, it meant everything to him. He couldn't help but smile when Koda pulled back from his chest and stared into his eyes, a warm smile adorning her face. Through everything that he had been through. He had at least one thing to show from it.

"...I love you too..."

**Oh man, I honestly thought I wasn't going to get this finished by tonight. But in other news: Sweet! I do believe that I've finished Remorse. I feel... Uh... Fulfilled... *Cough* Peace.**

**-Cupzy**


End file.
